His Inner Demons
by CherryXButterfly
Summary: She thought he was an ass when he ended their friendship a couple of years ago. Now, they are forced to reconnect and they grow closer than ever. But things spiral when Tenten discovers the dark and horrific reason why he walked away in the first place. Semi-Dark AU NejiTen with NaruHina, ShikaTema, & SasuSaku.
1. We Meet Again

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. If I did, Neji would still be alive. **_

_**A/N 1/1/14: Happy New Year! AU FIC TIME! I had an idea. It's a really dark idea. I don't think anyone has ever tried this, and I'm a little nervous to be trying this. Well you'll see just how dark my mind can get with this story. And emotion, lots and lots of emotion! Well enough bullshiting, here it is! **_

_**Summary: She thought he was an ass when he ended their friendship a couple of years ago. Now, they are forced to reconnect, and as they grow close once more, Tenten discovers the dark and horrific reason why he walked away in the first place. Semi-Dark AU NejiTen with other pairings on the side. **_

_**Warning: Nothing just yet**_

_**Chapter 1: We Meet Again**_

* * *

Math. She hated math. She was pretty sure most people did too. Even so, she forced herself to pay attention. She ranked second in her class, and there was no way in hell that she was going to lose that place. Not that she was satisfied just holding second place. Her competitive spirit would not allow her to rest until she obtained the number one spot. She'd been trying for years, but there was always one person who beat her in everything. That person was the person she hated with a burning passion.

Luckily for her, he wasn't here today. Or maybe he was late as usual. Whatever, it didn't matter to her if he was there or not. But she smirked at the fact that he was not there. Because the more class he missed, the more lessons he missed. And that would give her the opportunity to snatch that number one spot from him. She turned her attention back to the lecture, but the teacher's droning tone was making it increasingly difficult. Even so, she'd trained herself to stay up. She couldn't care less about derivatives and integrals, but if she was to graduate at the top of her class, she knew damn well to pay attention.

From the corner of her eye she saw HIM walk in. He was about 15 minutes late to class, but the expression on his face clearly told all that he didn't care.

The teacher stopped talking and turned to look at the young man who had just walked in. He looked less than pleased. "You're late Mr. Hyuuga, once again. Care to come up to the front and explain?"

Yeah that was him. Tenten's academic rival and most hated enemy for the past two years, Neji Hyuuga. She didn't get how he of all people could top her at everything. He was always late, barely gave a damn about school, and barely had any friends. So how did a guy like that get perfect grades and test scores? The answer was beyond her.

Her and Neji used to be friends. They'd been friends from kindergarten all the way up to their sophomore year. They were best friends one could even say, always playing together and hanging out. They'd always had had a healthy competition when it came to school, but that all changed in their sophomore year. His mother had gone AWOL and he became more and more distant until one day he just ended their friendship. No questions asked or answers given. Ever since then, Tenten threw herself into her school work, while swearing revenge on Neji for just walking away.

"I'm so sorry, I had some car trouble. Forgive me sir," he bowed his head slightly. Tenten rolled her eyes. That's how he always got himself out of trouble, by being a polite gentleman. It pissed her off that all of the teachers in this school seemed to be such suckers.

The teacher's expression softened and he nodded his head, "Well, make sure you don't make this a usual thing. Please take a seat."

Neji nodded his head and took the seat behind Tenten. Tenten had the urge to turn around and swing her left into his face, but she refrained. No she wouldn't beat him physically; she would beat him with her mind.

* * *

The bell finally rang a half an hour later. Tenten rushed to history and tried to get as far away from Neji as she possibly could. That was until she realized that they had the same advanced history class together. Of course that would happen. She groaned, but she could always just keep her mind off of that unfortunate fact by focusing on the lesson.

She sat down and got out her notebook, putting the header for today's lesson. Everyone was walking and for the first time, Neji walked in on time. Why was she even paying attention? She didn't really know. All she wanted to focus on was kicking his ass in terms of school work.

The teacher walked in. He turned and wrote something on the chalkboard. Tenten looked up and saw what he had written. It was a project and it was a partner project. She groaned. She hated partner projects. She was independent and she felt like someone else would only weigh her down.

The groans and moans only made the teacher smile. The first words that came out of his mouth made the groans even louder: "Assigned partners!"

'Anyone but that jackass,' Tenten said mentally.

"First up is….Tenten, you'll be working with Neji over there!" the teacher announced. Tenten wanted to rip into her teacher at that very moment. Her dislike of Neji was no secret, so what the hell was the teacher even thinking?

She peeked over at Neji, who looked at her for a split second before going back to what he was doing. He didn't seem to care, so she raised her hand.

"Yes Tenten?"

"May I request a change of partners?" she asked with a hint of reproach in her voice.

The teacher just smiled, "No can do. It's just one project. Besides you and Neji are at the top of my class. Let's see what you two can accomplish together!"

'_This teacher seriously has a death wish…' _

"Then can I work by myself?" she tried, knowing that it was a long shot.

"Partner project Tenten," he repeated, tapping the chalkboard.

Tenten huffed, annoyed. This teacher had an agenda, she just knew it. But why the hell did he care if she and Neji got along or not? It wasn't his problem. It's not like there were open hostilities either, well it was mainly on her side. That was probably why she was paired with him.

Tenten looked at Neji, who seemed to have been completely unaffected by her question. He wouldn't even look at her. He was too busy scribbling something in his notebook.

"Okay, you have five minutes to discuss the project with your partner!" the teacher announced and immediately people all over the room got up and started moving around. Neji and Tenten stayed glued to their chairs. Neji because he was still scribbling something in his notebook and Tenten because she didn't want to be anywhere near him.

Well, apparently they were being graded on interaction with their partners, so Tenten figured that she had to break the ice since Neji probably wasn't going to. She crossed the room swiftly and everyone stared and talked as she did so. The tension between the two had been obvious. Not only from Tenten's end either.

There was an empty seat next to him and she plopped down on it. He didn't seem to notice. Well he probably did, but he wasn't acknowledging her.

"Neji."

Neji tore his gaze from his notebook for a second to look at her before he went back to what he was doing, "Tenten."

'_Keep calm Tenten, keep calm.'_

"In case you weren't aware, you and I got paired up for a project. And a good chunk of the grade comes from interacting with each other. So talk, because I won't have you screwing up my average by making me fail this project," she said, annoyance coating her tone.

Neji smirked, "Hn. Well we can't have that can we?"

Tenten bit her tongue to keep herself from spitting in Neji's face, "Look, we have to work together, so can we pretend that we can stand each other for the next few weeks?"

Neji shrugged, "I guess we can."

Tenten was only a little relieved by that. "Okay, we'll go to your house after school. My house is being worked on right now and…"

"Then we'll go to the library. No need to go to my place."

"The library is far. Your house is closer," Tenten said, matter-of-factly.

"It's either your house or the library or we don't do it today," Neji said with finality.

What the hell was his problem? She'd been to his house millions of times when they were younger. "Fine the library. But just this once."

"Will the work on your house be done by tomorrow?" Neji inquired.

"It'll take a week," Tenten eyed him suspiciously. Where was this going anyway?

"Then we'll continue to go to the library until the work on your house is finished. Or we meet somewhere else. Or as a third option we don't meet at all," Neji offered.

Tenten's eyebrows twitched, the nerve! "Why the hell can't we just go to your place? What? Do you have something going on at your place?"

"You could say that," he mumbled.

"And what would that be?" Tenten pressed on. It seemed to annoy him even more.

"It's none of your business," he sneered. Tenten's eyes narrowed.

"All right guys, time up! Let's get on with the rest of the day shall we?" the teacher announced.

Tenten shot Neji a nasty look before saying, "Whatever, I don't really care."

Tenten walked back to her desk and plopped back down. He had used those same exact words, in that same exact tone when he had ended their friendship. Tenten had spent so much time convincing herself that she didn't care about him anymore, that she was surprised that her chest started hurting when he had said that.

The lesson was boring. She didn't really care about ancient history or what long dead dictators did, because all she could think about was how miserable she was going to be for the next few weeks. Well, if she had to go to therapy by the end of this, she could just sue her teacher and Neji.

* * *

The bell couldn't have come as more of a blessing when it rang. She didn't have any more classes with Neji for the rest of the day, and that suited her just fine. Neji walked out before her. His two friends, Sasuke and Naruto were waiting for him. Unlike Neji, she didn't mind them. Naruto was going out with her best friend, and Sasuke was quiet, but not as much of an ass like Neji.

He was about to turn and walk towards him when Tenten said, "Library, after school Hyuuga."

Neji turned his head slightly as he watched her walk away. Naruto and Sasuke walked up to him. They noticed the sour look on the girl's face.

"What's her problem?" Sasuke asked.

Neji shrugged, "We got paired up for a project."

"So what's the problem? I haven't seen her so pissed off since the day you told her off," Naruto raised an eyebrow, before he added, "You know you can't hide this from her forever."

Neji ignored the last part of his comment, "She wanted to work at my house because it's closer."

"Like Naruto was saying, you can't hide this from her forever. Especially not now," Sasuke added.

"Well I don't intend on getting close to her. So just watch me," Neji challenged.

"You know the more you do that, the more she's going to hate you, right?" Naruto yawned. They'd been through this millions of times.

"I'll take her hate over what she'll feel if she finds out any day," Neji said before changing the subject, "Hey Sasuke, is your brother going to be home tonight?"

"Uh, no not tonight," Sasuke answered.

"I want to come over. I need a few beers," Neji requested.

"Yeah sure, but don't you have some at your place?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, but I have to go to the library after school for that project. And since your house is near the library, I think I'll drink there today," Neji answered.

Sasuke nodded, but when Neji wasn't looking, he looked at Naruto and shook his head. Saying that Neji was a frequent drinker was a tragic understatement. But Neji didn't listen when it came to alcohol, so Sasuke and Naruto never did anything about it. They wanted to, but they knew if they did, Neji would be in more trouble than anyone else thought. And it would go beyond just the underage drinking.

The three teenagers didn't say anything more. Neji, especially, didn't want to say anything. More than anything, he was wondering just how he was supposed to deal with Tenten for two hours. He had ended their friendship in one of the worst possible ways and hadn't really talked to her since. But the scary thing was that with their former friendship, Tenten had become the only girl who knew how to break down his walls. He couldn't have that. He just couldn't…

* * *

_**Please Review. **_

_**Yay done with the first chapter of my first Naruto AU fic! So, does anyone want to know what Neji is hiding? Yeah, I had to throw in the fact that Neji has an alcohol problem. You'll see why. Well if you stay with the story! Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! Plz R&R! Thanks! Til next time! **_

_**CherryXButterfly(Angel) **_


	2. What's Your Problem?

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. **_

_**A/N 1/5/14: So I brought the rating from M to T for the time being. It won't have M related content for quite a few chapters. And I absolutely love that people are curious about Neji's secret, haha you'll see what it is. Trust me; it'll be dark and scary. **_

_**Warning: None **_

_**Chapter 2: What's Your Problem?**_

* * *

It was lunch and Tenten, who had still been pissed about the events of the morning, sat with her friends Temari, Hinata, Sakura, and Ino.

"You got paired with Neji?" Temari asked. Tenten had told her little group about what had happened in history class this morning. She was still fuming about it.

"Yeah…" Tenten mumbled, taking another bite of her sandwich.

"H-he's really not all that bad," a soft voice said. Tenten looked over at the person who had said it, Hinata. She was Neji's cousin, so naturally she would be defending him.

Tenten scoffed, "Yeah not all that bad. He's an ass."

Ino shrugged, "I don't know Tenten, you thought he was the best thing ever just a couple of years ago. Besides speak for yourself. None of us think he's all that bad actually."

Sakura nodded in agreement, "He's still the same old Neji."

Tenten snorted, "The old Neji wouldn't have ended our friendship without a reason."

Temari raised an eyebrow, "You're still not over that? Come on Tenten, it's been two years."

The rest of the girls nodded in agreement. Tenten huffed and continued eating in silence while the other girls changed the subject and began talking about a dance that was coming up. Tenten couldn't care less about that kind of stuff. She was always absorbed in schoolwork. But the conversation they were having previously had soured her mood even more.

* * *

_**Two years ago…**_

_Tenten slammed the door to her locker shut. She was already frustrated from the test this morning. She was sure she did well, but she hated math. And she had spent all night studying, so that didn't help things. And to top it all off, Neji didn't come over to help her with the studying. He promised he would, but he never did. He wasn't answering back to her texts or calls either. _

_From the corner of her eye she saw him approaching. He looked terrible, like he hadn't slept at all. That was weird. Neji barely ever needed to study. It was like he absorbed knowledge just by picking up a text book. So him pulling an all-nighter made no sense. And…was that a bruise on his face? Holy shit, it was. _

"_N-Neji? What happened to you?" she gasped, reaching for his cheek, but he turned away. He barely looked at her either. _

"_Tenten, we need to talk…" was all he said. _

"_...Okay," Tenten was confused to say the least. _

"_Not here…let's go outside," Neji said and he turned and started walking. Tenten followed him. An uncomfortable feeling was developing in her gut. Somehow, she knew this was not a talk that was going to end well. But she and Neji always worked through their problems. _

_They walked to the back door and then they were outside, just the two of them. The only other thing that was there was a dumpster. Neji still wasn't making eye contact, and Tenten started to get worried. _

"_So are you going to tell me where that bruise came from?" Tenten inquired. _

_Neji took a whole minute to answer, "Someone opened a door and I had the misfortune of being right in front of it." _

_He was lying. No door could leave a mark that dark. "Liar." _

_Neji sighed, "Believe what you will, but that's what it is. But that's not what I needed to talk to you about." _

_Tenten folded her arms, "Okay, then out with it." _

_Neji didn't say anything for a few minutes. It looked like he was trying to muster up the courage to tell her something. But then he finally said it. "We can't be friends anymore…" _

_Tenten dropped her arms and gaped at him. She had to have heard that wrong. Because there was no way Neji had just told her to throw away ten years of friendship just like that. _

"_W-what?" was all she could think to say. _

"_We can't be friends anymore. I'm asking you to stay away from me," he repeated and added. _

_Tenten could feel a huge lump in her throat, she was about to cry. But she refused to let Neji see that. "Did I do something?" _

_Neji closed his eyes and inhaled, "No, it's not you…" _

_Tenten flared up, "Let me I guess, you were going to say 'It's not you, it's me' right? Yeah I haven't heard that one before." _

"_Tenten, look this friendship isn't going to work out." _

_That sounded like he was breaking up with her, "So that's it? You just want me to forget the last ten years like it never happened?" _

_Neji nodded his head, "Yes." _

_Tenten rarely acted on impulse, and when she did, it wasn't good for the other person involved. In this case, Neji now had two bruises on his cheek. Tenten slapped hard. As stoic as he was, even he looked annoyed at this point. He grabbed Tenten's wrists to keep her from hitting him some more. _

"_Tenten, stop this!"_

_Tenten couldn't help it; tears began falling, "Then tell me why!" _

"_There's no reason. We just shouldn't be friends anymore." _

"_That's bullshit! You never do things without a reason!" _

"_People change!" _

"_Just answer the damn question! Why are you doing this? Why now? And why the hell are you acting like such a jerk?" _

_Neji was growing more annoyed with her questions so he let go of her wrists and stepped back. He still wasn't making eye contact. _

"_Tenten, nothing I do is any of your business anymore…" _

_If she was fuming before, she was seething now. She probably looked like a tomato, but she didn't care. "So that's it? We're through just like that? And I don't even have a right to know why?" _

_Neji turned and opened the back door to go inside. Before he went inside he said icily, "As I said, it's none of your business…"_

* * *

"Hey Tenten! Ino yelled, waving her hand in front of her face.

Tenten blinked, "H-huh?"

She turned and saw that the other girls giving her weird looks. Temari was the first one to say anything, "You kind of spaced out and you had this angry, constipated look on your face."

Tenten's cheeks flushed. Well that was embarrassing. "Oh, I was just…"

"Thinking about Neji?" Sakura said. It was hardly a question. The only time Tenten ever got angry anymore was if the topic was on Neji.

Tenten didn't say anything, and the girls took it as a confirmation. Tenten was starting to feel uncomfortable, so she decided to get up, "I told my English teacher that I'd meet him to discuss my paper, I'll see you later."

All the girls except Hinata nodded their heads. Hinata knew Tenten better than anyone. The topic of her cousin made Tenten uncomfortable and sad more than angry. Hinata was also aware that Neji wasn't entirely truthful. Even if he and Tenten never talked, Hinata always caught him looking at her from the corner of his eye. While it may not have been clear to Tenten, it was clear to Hinata. He hadn't just distanced himself from Tenten and the rest of them, but from their family as well. After his mother's disappearance, he'd withdrawn completely. He was pretty much an orphan since, as his father had died when he was 4.

No one was allowed at his house. Well that was with the exception of Sasuke and Naruto. Those two were the only people he pretty much talked to. And right now, from the corner of her eye, she could see that Neji was watching Tenten from the corner of his eye…

* * *

Tenten sat down on a library table, waiting for her partner to get there. Great, a few hours of quality time with Neji Hyuuga. Just what she needed. Could she manage without hitting him for that long?

She flipped through the history textbook aimlessly. Apparently they were supposed to pick any period in history and research on it. Simple enough. Tenten hated simple. She liked a challenge, but since she was working with Neji, she had to strike a compromise.

Yeah, that wasn't happening. She'd get him to do it the way she wanted to. If she could win fights with him from the ages of 5 through 15, she sure as hell could do it now.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Neji walk in. All of the girls who were around stopped their chattering and conversations to stare at him. Tenten rolled her eyes. She honestly didn't know what girls saw in him. He wasn't the guy everyone thought he was. Tenten could vouch for that one…

"Tenten," he said, standing at the edge of the table she was sitting at.

"Sit down Hyuuga," Tenten pointed to the chair opposite from her. She wanted him as far from her as possible for this project.

Neji did as he was told and plopped down on the chair opposite of her. She continued flipping through the history book, frustrated. Neji raised an eyebrow as she flipped through the book furiously.

"OW!" she yelped, grabbing her finger. She'd gotten a paper cut from turning the page to quickly. Neji just watched her as her finger started to bleed.

"Want me to get a bandage?" Neji offered. Tenten looked up and scowled.

"That won't be necessary."

Neji shrugged, "If you say so."

Tenten sucked on her finger as Neji just watched her. She noticed and stopped what she was doing and decided to get back to the task at hand.

"Okay so we're supposed to pick a certain period or event in history and research that. Everyone's probably going to be doing the Renaissance, the Holocaust, or the Fall of Rome. So I say we do something different."

Neji shook his head, "Typical Tenten, now you're calling the shots?"

Tenten looked up at him, an annoyed look crossed her face. She was attempting to get along with him, and he was purposely trying to start shit? Hell no. She slammed the book shut and glared at him.

"What's your problem huh?"

Neji looked unaffected by the question, "I don't have a problem, but I think you fail to see the point of this project."

Tenten huffed, "Look I'm just trying to get a good grade here!"

Neji sighed and met her gaze, "This project isn't to test our knowledge Tenten. It's to see if the two partners can work together and get something done."

Tenten's cheeks slightly flushed. So that's why the teacher paired her up with Neji! But she wasn't about to swallow her pride and tell Neji that she wasn't aware of that face, "I—I knew that."

Neji rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Of course. Now, did you have a particular period in history in mind?"

Seeing that Neji was willing to cooperate with her, she nodded her head, "I was thinking about the Dark Ages."

Neji shook his head, "We won't find a whole lot on that period. There are barely any written records from that time. That's why it's called the Dark Ages."

Tenten let out a frustrated breath, "Okay smartass, do you have any ideas?"

Neji ignored the insult and nodded his head, "I was thinking something like the fall of the Knights Templar perhaps?"

Tenten thought about that for a second. It could work. She doubted anyone was really going to do that, and it was a period of history that no one really cared to look into. She sighed as she realized that she actually agreed with Neji on something.

"Okay, Knights Templar it is," Tenten said after a period of long silence.

"Well, let's get a few books shall we?" Neji suggested. Tenten just looked at him. Was he a caveman or something?

"You know there's this little thing called the internet, you know we could get a lot more information in a short amount of time," Tenten answered.

Neji shrugged, "YOU can look on the internet. I prefer books. I retain a lot more when I read words on a page."

Tenten groaned. She didn't remember Neji being this difficult before. He was either trying to piss her off or maybe he really had changed. She turned her back so she didn't have to look or even think about him. It was weird, because when she had looked at Neji from afar, she felt pure anger. However, when she was talking to and looking at him, she felt like crying. She shook the thought out of her head. She didn't care what he did. Or at least that's what she kept telling herself. For the next few hours, they worked separately, trying to find information. But even though they were working separately, their minds were on each other.

* * *

Neji plopped down on Sasuke's sofa and cracked open the beer in his hand. He smiled as the liquid poured into his mouth. It helped him to forget the things that were going on in his life.

Sasuke in the meantime, looked over at Neji with concern. If it were up to him, he'd snatch the bottle away from Neji at that very second, but Neji was known for getting very violent when he was under the influence. And it was becoming very apparent that this was not Neji's first beer of the day.

"Look, you can't keep coming over here when you're plastered," Sasuke groaned, taking the armchair on Neji's left.

Neji just shrugged. Besides getting violent when provoked, drunken Neji wasn't all that different from sober Neji. He was just a little more relaxed and a lot more stoic.

"Well, thanks for letting me come over and have some beer," Neji said, before taking a few more gulps.

"Well, again, Itachi's going to notice if you keep taking his beer. He probably already has," Sasuke answered. He eased back on the chair.

"I'll restock. Don't worry about it," Neji replied, easing back on the couch.

Sasuke sighed, "So how'd things with Tenten go?"

Neji took a few more gulps before answering, "She definitely hates me."

"Well what did you expect? You kind of left her hanging. And what are you going to do when she finds out your little secret," Sasuke inquired.

Neji shook his head. "Nothing. Because she won't find out."

Sasuke sighed, "You know, you can't keep this a secret from Tenten forever."

Neji was getting annoyed. They'd had this conversation millions of times. But now Neji glared at Sasuke this time. "And why is that? It's better if she wasn't burdened with this."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Come on Neji. Even a moron like Naruto can see how you feel about her. And everyone knows how miserable you are without each other."

Neji gave him an angered look before gulping down the beer some more. "Which is why she needs to stay away from me. Think of how much more miserable she'd be if she knew about this. Please, you see the way Naruto looks at me from time to time. If he hadn't been snooping around, he wouldn't have been burdened with this either. The less people who know about this there are, the better for them."

"So you're going to just keep making yourself and everyone around you miserable because of this? Hyuuga, it's not too late. Maybe you could still get out of…"

"Drop it Uchiha…" Neji growled, downing the entire bottle.

Sasuke sighed as he watched his friend drown his misery in alcohol. He couldn't really blame him, but at the same time he couldn't condone his actions either. He knew what Neji's secret was. He'd known it from the beginning, because not so long ago, he himself was in a similar situation. Well, he and his brother were. They had each other. Neji had no one. He was forced into something that he couldn't get out easily. But Sasuke couldn't help but cling to the hope that Neji would somehow get out of this. But the guy he was seeing sitting on his couch was far from that point…

* * *

_**Please Review**_

_**Two polls for the next chapter! **_

_**1. Next chapter (Choose one!)**_

_**A) Tenten gets curious about what's going on with Neji and decides to snoop, but is stopped by both Sasuke and Naruto. **_

_**B) Neji wounds up going to Tenten's house and they have a moment, which both will instantly regret, but it sparks Tenten's curiousity about his secret. **_

_**2. Other pairings for this story (You can pick more than one, but it isn't limited to just these options) Note: This already has NaruHina. **_

_**A) ShikaTema**_

_**B) SasuSaku**_

_**C) KibaIno**_

_**D) ShikaIno (I despise this pairing, but I'm willing to pair them up for the sake of good story.)**_

_**Okay, yes I know they are all a little OOC and I apologize. Also, I think I'll have a poll for every chapter, because I have ideas all of the time, but it'd be nice to know what you as a reader want. If you review this, just tell me which option you want, and the ones with the highest votes gets put in. Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! Plz R&R! Thanks! Til next time! **_

_**CherryXButterfly(Angel) **_


	3. A Not So Awkward Moment?

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. **_

_**A/N 1/9/14: Polls were a great idea, and honestly I think I should do them with every or at least most chapters. Well here are the results from last chapter's polls! **_

_**1****st**** Poll**_

_**Option A: .5 **_

_**Option B: 7.5**_

_******2****nd**** Poll**_

_******Option A: 6**_

_**Option B: 1 **_

_** Option C: 2**_

_** Option D: 0 **_

_**Haha you guys really want that NejiTen moment don't you? It's okay, so do I! As for the second poll, ShikaTema won by a landslide! I was surprised honestly, because I thought there were more ShikaIno fans out there (much to my disdain) but I'm happy about it! ShikaTema is the third pairing for this story. Back to the Story! Enjoy! **_

_**Warning: A little bit of making out**_

_**Chapter 3: A Not So Awkward Moment?**_

* * *

They'd made some progress as the week went on. And by progress, they weren't arguing every 5 minutes over silly things. They were by no means friendly, but they were civil with one another. Tenten's attitude towards him wasn't as sour as it had been, but it wasn't sweet either. It was nice for her though, she didn't want to punch him every time she saw him.

"So, work on my house is done, so I don't think we'll need to be going to the library anymore," Tenten said, walking up to Neji on a Friday. He was at his locker.

Neji looked up and nodded his head, "Okay, so what time would you want me there?"

Tenten shrugged, "I don't care. Just come before dark. I'm not allowed to have guys over after dark."

Neji smirked, "Your parents know me, I'm sure that they wouldn't mind."

Tenten rolled her eyes, "You're still a guy, they're aware that we aren't friends anymore, and if they see you in my room after dark, my father might proceed to castrate you."

Neji laughed. Tenten froze. That was the first time she'd heard him laugh in the longest time.

"Er, right, just come around 4 ok?" she went on. Neji nodded his head and Tenten walked away. Her cheeks felt warm. Was she blushing? Goddammit, she was! This was Neji! All he did was laugh, nothing blush worthy about that!

"Woah, Tenten is that you?" Temari asked, walking up to Tenten, noticing her blush.

"I—uh—yeah it's me," she grumbled.

"Sorry I couldn't tell at first with all that red on your cheeks," Temari poked and Tenten's blush only deepened.

"It happens from time to time," Tenten lied, pathetically.

"Tenten look around you, everyone's talking about you," Temari whispered. Tenten looked around and saw people gossiping while looking at her. Ugh, didn't people have anything better to do?

"And why is that? No one's ever seen me blush before? Is it really that unbelievable?" she groaned.

"No it's because you made Neji laugh. No one's managed to do that in a long time," Temari answered. "Oh look, his fan club."

Tenten looked from the corner of her eye as she walked by Neji's scowling fan club. If you were even caught talking to Neji, it didn't usually end well for you. But Tenten didn't care; she'd dealt with them for years when she and Neji had been friends. They'd had celebrations when Neji had ended the friendship, making her hatred for them even worse. But she did find it amusing that these girls had nothing better to do than to chase a guy who was well out of their reach.

"Let them glare. If they try anything, they'll find my foot shoved far up their asses," Tenten said, shooting the girls a glare.

"It's sad isn't it? Why does this school even allow fan clubs?" Temari shook her head.

"Because these girls usually have rich daddies who can sue the shit out of the school if they don't get their way," Tenten shrugged.

"Sad, just sad," Temari shook her head. They entered the cafeteria to find that Sakura, Ino, and Hinata were already seated at their table. Their eyes were focused on Tenten. She'd barely reached the table before they launched their assault of questions.

"So word has it that you made Neji laugh," Ino said. Tenten sighed. Word travelled way too fast at this place.

"I don't really see what the big deal is. Neji can laugh you know," Tenten sat down and pulled a sandwich out of her lunch bag.

"It's a huge deal! Neji Hyuuga does not laugh! And the fact that it was you who made him laugh makes it an even bigger deal!" Sakura reminded.

"H—he does laugh. J—just not often," Hinata answered.

"Yeah I just said that my dad would castrate him if he was at my house after dark. I really fail to see how that was funny, but apparently he thought so," Tenten answered truthfully.

Sakura and Ino shot each other smirks. "Hm, looks like he might like you."

Tenten nearly spit out her food. She looked at the two and said, "How did you get that from that? Seriously for two of the smartest people in our class, your logic is seriously flawed."

Ino giggled, "Our logic isn't flawed. We just know."

Temari sighed, "Okay you guys seriously, stop it."

Hinata nodded, "Even if he does, h—he wouldn't make it that obvious."

Tenten shook her head. This was not the topic of conversation she would like to be having. So she changed the topic, "Can you guys come over tonight?"

Hinata shook her head, "I—I can't. I have a date tonight."

Temari shook her head also, "Yeah, so do I."

All eyes shifted to Temari. Temari hardly ever dated. No one at the school or in Konoha had really caught her attention. She'd had a boyfriend back in her old town, Suna, but they broke up shortly after she'd moved. She was heartbroken after that happened, so she simply refused to date. So the news that she had a date was rather shocking.

"You have…a date?!" Tenten gasped, turning to Temari. She usually refused to indulge in stupid gossip, but this was her friend.

Temari's cheeks turned a faint shade of red, "I believe that's what I said."

"Who?!" Sakura and Ino asked, nearly pouncing on her.

Temari's face turned pink, "Er Shikamaru, from my physics class."

That…was unexpected. They could not be any more opposite than they already were. Temari was hard working and spunky, while Shikamaru was lazy and unenthusiastic.

"I—I didn't s—see that coming," Hinata mumbled, taking a sip of water.

"Yeah, well I couldn't say no to him. There's just something about him," Temari confessed, blushing a little bit.

Ino squealed, "Finally he gathered the courage to do it!" Shikamaru and Ino had been friends forever. Apparently she had known that this would happen.

Sakura smiled, "Looks like Temari finally has a shot at love."

Temari rolled her eyes, "It's one date. Chill."

The girls continued to giggle, but Tenten just smiled, glad that the conversation had shifted from her…

* * *

Neji sat down at his table, Naruto and Sasuke were already sitting there, watching him.

"What?" Neji asked.

Naruto got closer and examined his face, "Hmmm, he doesn't look drunk."

Sasuke looked skeptical, "Okay, how many beers did you have this morning?"

"I haven't had a drink today. Probably not going to have the chance either," Neji shrugged.

"Yeah right! If you aren't drunk as usual, then why did you laugh when Tenten was talking to you?" Naruto accused, his voice rather loud. People at the tables around them turned to look at them, and Sasuke clocked Naruto in the head.

"Dumbass! Why don't you just go over the PA system and announce that Neji drinks!" Sasuke growled.

"Owww! Come on man! Don't mess me up today! I have a date tonight!" Naruto groaned.

Neji stopped chewing his food and glared at Naruto. "If you do anything to my cousin, I swear I'll…"

"You'll take me back to your house and have me dealt with," Naruto groaned. Truthfully, the only reason he had been taking his relationship painfully slow was because he never, ever wanted to be inside of Neji's house ever again.

Sasuke turned his attention to Neji, "Then why were you laughing?"

Neji let out a huff, "I can't laugh? Why is it such a big deal? Tenten said something to me and I thought it was funny. That's it."

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged surprised looks, "Tenten made you laugh?" they both asked at the same time.

Neji groaned. He knew where this was going, "Had anyone else said that to me I would've still laughed."

Sasuke did however catch it when Neji said that he was probably not going to have a drink today, "So you're not going to drink today?"

Neji shrugged, "Maybe when I get back home tonight, but I have to go to Tenten's for the project."

Naruto gave him a confused look, "Tenten's place? What happened to the library?"

"We were only working there because they were working on her house. Now that it's done, we'll just work at her place," Neji answered.

* * *

Tenten had finished her lunch. She didn't like staying at the table when Sakura and Ino were at their most annoying, so she got up. The other girls stopped questioning Tenten's early departure. That was just her. She threw her bag away and was about to exit the cafeteria, when she heard.

"Tenten's house? I thought you wanted to stay away from her!"

'_Naruto…?' _

Tenten hid behind a pillar that was closest to their table. If they were talking about her, she wanted to know why.

"We're working on our project remember? We can't exactly use my house. After we're done with this project, I'll push her away again," Neji answered. Tenten froze. Push her away again?

"You can't keep doing that. Tenten's not an idiot, she will put two and two together eventually," Sasuke said. Put what together?

"Drop it Uchiha. She doesn't need to know. No one needs to know…" Neji said, finishing up his drink and getting up. Tenten jumped a little. She didn't want Neji to see her. She moved away from the pillar and started walking out of the cafeteria.

What were they talking about? What did Neji mean by "pushing her away again?" and why was his house so off limits. She shook her head. Why did she care? Whatever relationship her and Neji had right now was strictly professional.

Yeah right…

* * *

Tenten had gotten home early and changed into her PJs. She hated being in school clothes at home. This was the one place where she could feel comfortable. But today was different. He was coming over. Even though she was snuggled up in the comfort of her own room, she couldn't have felt more uncomfortable. Especially not after what she had heard.

Why did she listen in? She heard her name and that was it. Now she felt like she knew more than she was supposed to. And to add to that, she was curious. She hated to admit it, but she was curious. Why was Neji trying to push her away? Ugh, she sounded desperate.

She tried to focus on her notes for the project. She'd gotten enough information for the project, now all her and Neji had to do was put their information together. Was there a chance that they could finish this project tonight? Probably not.

She heard a knock at the door, snapping her out of her musings. "It's open."

The door opened to reveal the form of her mother, who had a smile on her face. "Tenten, Neji's here for the school project."

"Yeah, I told him to come over," she said, getting off of her bed.

Her mother stepped aside and Neji walked into the room.

"Well this place hasn't changed much," he mused, and Tenten's mother laughed.

"Yeah, I tell her to change some things around, but this girl is always too busy."

"Well maybe that's not such a bad thing," Neji smiled, making Tenten feel even more uncomfortable.

"Okay, thank you mother! Neji and I have a lot of work to do!" she said between gritted teeth. She glared at her mother.

"Well if you two need anything, just let me know! And it's great to have you again Neji," her mother said, turning around to exit the room.

"Thank you for having me," Neji answered politely. The woman smiled and promptly left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Okay, do you have your research?" Tenten asked almost immediately.

Neji snorted, "Don't I always?"

Tenten rolled her eyes, "Okay I think we have enough information to put together the project. But how do you want to do this? A poster or powerpoint?"

"Well, why don't we do it the old fashioned way?" Neji said. Tenten huffed. She guessed that Neji didn't like technology, or maybe he just didn't use the computer.

"A poster's going to take a while you know. If we do it on a powerpoint, it might take a shorter amount of time, plus we don't have to keep meeting up," Tenten pointed out.

"Well I'd be fine with that, except for the fact that about 65% of this project's grade is dependent on how well you and I can interact with each other. I'm afraid we don't have much of a choice otherwise. Besides, I don't have a computer at my place at the moment."

Wait, yes he did. "What happened to your old computer?"

Neji's face changed from stoic to a little nervous, "It's not working at the moment."

Whatever curiosity Tenten had buried when Neji walked in came back, "There's a solution to that. Either get someone to fix it, or buy a new one."

"Nobody has to check it out and I can't afford a new one right now, so drop it Tenten," Neji growled.

Tenten was annoyed now, "Fine, but you just made this project that much harder. You may not have a life, but I do. I can't dedicate so much time to it."

Neji looked at her. He was annoyed. "Well can't you sacrifice a few weekends for your precious class rank?"

"I have other classes too Hyuuga! I can't just drop everything for just one project!" she hissed.

"Well then learn better time management!" he hissed back.

Oh he didn't. "I should learn? I wouldn't be holding the second place in our class if I had terrible time management Hyuuga! I've got my priorities straight, unlike you!"

"Really? Then why do I top you in every class? Are you sure that you have all of your priorities straight?" he shot back. He had hit a nerve.

"Yes! Yes I do Neji! Because I can keep up with my school work and still have time to spend with friends. Because unlike you, I don't drop friendships just like that!" Tenten yelled, her voice getting louder with every word that left her mouth.

"Well it is not my problem that you can't just deal with it and move on!" he growled.

Okay that was it. There was no way he was going to get away with that. She raised her hand about to slap him, but Neji had fast reflexes. He caught her wrist and stopped it mid-air. Without thinking she raised her other hand only to have it also grabbed by Neji.

"Let go of my wrists," she growled slowly. She was this close to tearing into him.

"Then calm down," he ordered calmly.

"Don't tell me what to do Hyuuga," she growled as she began thrashing around trying to free herself. However, the more she tried, the tighter his grip on her wrists became. Neji was beginning to grow annoyed once more so he pulled her in by her wrists so that their faces were only centimeters apart.

Tenten turned red. She'd never been this close to Neji, not even when they were younger. And right now, she wanted to be as far away from where she was as possible.

She looked into his eyes for the first time in years and didn't see the asshole she'd made him out to be. She saw, concern? No that wasn't it. She saw a lot more than that. She saw annoyance, sadness, tiredness, loneliness, and another emotion that she couldn't figure out. She also saw secrecy in his eyes, like he was hiding something huge. She didn't think that those blank white orbs could hide so much.

And without even thinking about it, she moved her face in and softly pressed her lips against his. Neji's eyes widened at her actions, not sure what he was supposed to do, but without thinking, his eyes went shut. Tenten was about to pull back, embarrassed and angry at herself for her actions, but when she felt Neji's lips respond to the kiss, her eyes widened. His grip on her wrists loosened slightly, but he didn't let them go. Instead he took them and wrapped them around his neck. Almost immediately, he wrapped his arms her waist and pulled her closer. Tenten gasped and without so much as a thought of what this was going to cost him and her, he slipped his tongue into her mouth. The surprise gradually started to fade away, they were on her bed, with Neji on top of her, and their mouths glued to each other. It was like all the years of being without each other poured into this one kiss.

But then Neji opened his eyes, realizing that this was Tenten, and that he wasn't supposed to get closed to her. He broke the kiss and got off of her and the bed. Tenten looked up at him, confused.

"We shouldn't have done that," he whispered. "That was a mistake."

That stung, but now Tenten was sure that Neji was hiding something from her. "And you're hiding something Neji."

"Tenten as I've said, it's none of your-," he began.

"None of my business I know. But we can't just ignore that this just happened," she whispered.

"We'll have to Tenten," he said closing his eyes. "But I suppose I should tell you now that after this project is done, to stay away from me."

Tenten remembered the words Neji had said to Sasuke and Naruto. '_After we're done with this project, I'll push her away again…' _

Before Tenten could answer she heard her door open. She quickly sat up and fixed her clothes. Her mother walked in and smiled. "Sakura and Ino are here, Tenten."

Sakura and Ino walked into the room and gaped at what they saw. Tenten was sitting down and Neji was standing up. Neji's hair was a little messy as was Tenten's. But the biggest give away were their bruised lips. Tenten's mother seemed to be oblivious, however.

"Would you like something Neji?" the woman asked, smiling warmly.

"No ma'am, I realized that I have to be somewhere. But thank you for asking," he answered politely. Neji gathered up his things and immediately began making his way to the door.

"I'll be off then. We'll meet again tomorrow Tenten," Neji said, and without a second glance, exited the room. Tenten watched him leave the room.

Oh no, there was no way he was going to leave her without an explanation again. He was hiding something, and somehow it was the reason that he had ended their friendship. She could tell that much now. And whatever it was, it had probably gotten between them. She couldn't deny it anymore. She didn't hate Neji. She never could and never would. No matter what he did or said. And she didn't want to be without his friendship anymore…

"Well, that was strange, that boy has definitely changed," Tenten's mother mused. She turned her attention to the girls.

"Well you three girls have fun now. I hope you two can stay for dinner," she said and the two girls nodded their heads politely. "Good, well I'll call you when dinner's ready!"

Once again she exited the room, and Sakura and Ino turned their attention back to Tenten, their eyes wide open.

"Were you two making out…?"

* * *

_**Please Review **_

_**Two polls this time! (Last time I do two, I promise!) **_

_**Next Chapter: **_

_**A) Tenten extends a hand in friendship, but Neji turns it down. Later she sees him talking to someone shady and becomes suspicious… **_

_**B) Tenten extends a hand in friendship, and after a lot of thought, Neji reluctantly agrees. Tenten hopes that he'll start opening up to her on his own because she doesn't want to pry it out of him… **_

_****Ami1010 gave me a great idea in her last review (Thank you!). A Tenten side pairing that would be one-sided from the other person's end (Like someone is in love with her but she's not with them, but they'll pursue her as long as they can). Don't worry, this is still a NejiTen! I had three guys in mind, so I'll let you guys vote on it! **_

_**Tenten side pairing options: **_

_**A) Lee x Tenten **_

_**B) Sasuke x Tenten **_

_**C) Kankuro x Tenten **_

_**It was nice to get all of those reviews last chapter! I hope they keep on coming, because I'm really excited about this story! Ughh I am a little disappointed with that make out scene. I'm not used to writing them. Bare with me here. Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! Plz R&R! Thanks! Til next time! **_

_**CherryXButterfly(Angel) **_


	4. Bargaining

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.**_

_**A/N 1/12/14: Well thanks for all of the reviews! I'm glad that this story is finally picking up some momentum. Just know that it'll go back to M in a few chapters. Anyway here are the results from last chapter's polls. **_

_**1st Poll **_

_**Option A: 6**_

_**Option B: 5**_

_**2nd Poll **_

_**LeeTen: 2**_

_**SasuTen: 5**_

_**KankuTen: 5**_

_**Okay option A won the poll this time! Actually that's great because you'll get a couple answers, but not the secret just yet. As for the second poll, I have to redo it because SasuTen and KankuTen tied. Well I'm done talking, back to the story! Enjoy! **_

_**Warning: Cussing but that's about it. **_

_**Chapter 4: Bargaining**_

* * *

"Were you two making out…?" Ino asked the moment the door closed.

Tenten's cheeks immediately flushed at the question. That wasn't something she really wanted to tell Sakura and Ino of all people about. They'd never let her live it down. "Uhh, well…"

"Oh my god Ino! They were making out! Look the sheets are all messy too!" Sakura squealed, pointing to the bed sheets.

"We could've just been sitting you know!" Tenten mumbled her blush still apparent as she smoothed out the bed sheets.

"Come on Tenten, both of you looked so disoriented when we walked in, with your messy hair and chapped lips," Ino said, giggling a bit.

"Can we drop this guys?" Tenten asked wearily.

"Not until you tell us!" Sakura answered, standing before Tenten with her hands on her hips. Tenten made an annoyed sound and fell back on the sheets.

"Okay, if I tell you and you give me crap about it, I will thoroughly beat you two into the ground in front of the whole school, deal?" Tenten said between gritted teeth.

"Deal!" the two girls chimed and they gathered around Tenten.

Tenten mumbled something along the lines of, "We got too close and I ended up kissing him."

The girls gasped, but just to tease Tenten a little, Ino leaned in closer, "I'm sorry I didn't catch that, could you speak up a little?"

"We got into a fight, he grabbed my wrists, I ended up kissing him and next thing I know he's on top of me and we're making out like monkeys," she spit out. She turned red, because that sounded better in her head.

"Oh my god!" both girls squealed. Tenten groaned, wondering why she was friends with the most annoying and girliest girls at her school. It didn't help that they were the gossip queens as well. But they had a deal, and Tenten always kept her end of the bargain.

"Okay, shut up, it was a complete accident,"Tenten mumbled, grabbing a pillow and hugging it.

"Hmm, you know I wouldn't say it was a complete accident," Sakura smirked and Tenten gave her an annoyed look.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Come on, you haven't noticed how Neji looks at you?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tenten shook her head, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"He's always looking at you darling. Even at lunch, all of us have caught him at least once. Well, all of us except for you anyway," Ino giggled.

Tenten turned red, "Can we drop this now?"

The girls giggled but nodded their heads. Tenten huffed but stayed quiet as the girls started gossiping again. She looked up at the ceiling and thought about what happened about 10 minutes ago. What was she going to do? She had already decided that she didn't hate him, and that was already causing her more problems than solving.

But there was one thing she had decided: if Neji truly had a good reason to end their friendship like she was suspecting, then she'd find out what it was. Whether Neji wanted her to or not.

* * *

The next day was awkward for the both of them. Neji hardly said a word to Tenten and Tenten had no idea what to say to him. She was looking at him from the corner of her eye and saw that he was trying his best not to look her way. Not only would this ensure that they failed the project, but make it so awkward that their relationship would never be repaired.

"Are you going to stay silent for the rest of the project Neji," Tenten said, finally breaking the ice.

"Hn," was all Neji said, cutting up something.

"I'm serious…this doesn't have to be awkward you know," Tenten mumbled.

"No, it doesn't," was his answer.

Tenten was growing impatient. Sure Neji wasn't exactly the most talkative person in the world, but he wasn't always silent either. Friends or not, they were stuck together on this project, and the silence was not making anything better for either of them.

"Listen, about last night…" Tenten began.

"We can talk about anything…but not that. We're going to pretend like that never happened," Neji responded. That was the most he had said all day, and Tenten smirked. It was progress.

"All right, well I'll start out by saying that I'm sorry," Tenten started, seeing his face change from stoic to confused.

"For last night?" Neji asked, looking directly at her now.

"Well that, and also for the last two years; I've been kind of a bitch. I thought you were an a complete ass after what you did," Tenten explained.

Neji nodded his head, "I'm sorry too. I could've left you on better terms."

Tenten nodded her head. She bit her lip as she slowly let out the words that she wanted to say, "I was thinking…"

"What?"

"Could we try to…be friends again?" she choked out. That didn't come out right. It was too direct.

Neji nearly sliced his finger off when the words reached his ears. He had to blink a few times before turning to her. Was she serious? She hated him just yesterday. This wasn't good. He couldn't afford to have her get close to him.

He shook his head slowly, "Tenten, I meant what I said before. After we finish this project, you need to stay away from me. Please, it's not a good idea to around each other.

Tenten stopped what she was doing to look at him. Whether or not she meant it to happen, a hurt look flashed across her face, "But why? And no I won't take the "no reason" or "it's none of your business" as an answer.

Neji shook his head, "Please stay out of my business. It would be in your best interests."

Tenten tried not to lose her cool, "Look, I have spent two years of my life wondering what I did that made you leave in the first place. Please just give me an answer and I'll never ask again."

Neji bit his bottom lip and shook his head furiously, "Tenten I can't give you an explanation. Not one that you'd understand. As for what you did, you did nothing. In fact it wasn't you, it was me."

Tenten bit back a laugh. Not because it was funny, but because it was typical. It was the go to answer when you didn't want to reveal the actual reason. "Yeah, because I haven't heard that one before."

Neji huffed, "Tenten, please just do this for me."

Tenten shrugged, "I don't have to do anything for you. We aren't friends, remember?"

Neji tried again, "For the sake of what was. Leave well enough alone."

Tenten turned around and glared at him, "So tell me Neji, how have the past two years been for you? Have you been all right? Or were you wallowing in misery like I was?"

He saw what she did, "I won't answer that."

Tenten couldn't contain her feelings anymore and tears began streaming, "I deserve an answer Hyuuga! You threw away 10 years of friendship without so much as a fuckin' explanation! I want an answer! And I want your friendship too! But seeing as I can't get that back…"

Tenten hiccupped and Neji, who had looked away so he wouldn't have to look at her sad face, packed everything into his backpack, stood up, and swung it over his shoulder. "I think I should go."

Tenten looked up at him through her tears, "So that's it? You're just going to run away like you have been doing?"

"Hn," was all Neji said and he walked away. He could hear Tenten screaming at him from far away, but he didn't want to turn back. As soon as he was far enough away, he grabbed his water bottle. He had filled it with beer because he saw this coming in a way. As the cool liquid went down his throat, he felt a nice disconnect from reality…

* * *

Neji and Tenten didn't talk for the rest of the weekend. Tenten wasn't angry anymore, but she was hurt. She guessed that this was what she should've felt years ago. She contemplated texting him to finish up the rest of the project, but after that whole fiasco, she decided against it. School wasn't much easier, as she had her first two classes with him. The lessons were boring and Tenten knew the stuff like the back of her hand. But she pretended that she was learning because if she didn't think about that, she'd think about Neji, and that was the exact opposite of what she wanted.

Lunch wasn't much easier on her either. She had forgotten to tell Sakura and Ino not to tell the other two girls about what had transpired between her and Neji. And more than likely, they had already blabbed it to them.

And she was right. Because the first thing she heard when she came to the table was, "TENTEN HOOKED UP WITH NEJI!"

Tenten groaned. Neji was not a good topic right now. Somehow the things that she didn't want to talk about always became the topic of discussion when she was around. "You two had to tell them?"

Sakura and Ino just smiled. Ino answered, "Well duh! It's big news!"

"It's also personal," she mumbled.

"Oh well!" both girls chimed. She was thankful that Temari had given her a surprised glance and stayed quiet. Hinata also seemed quiet. She liked that about both of the girls. They never pestered her about anything. Even then, she didn't want it getting around. The rumor mill turned too fast at this school, and it wouldn't be long until Neji's pathetic little fan club found out.

And she didn't want to stick around. She just felt like sitting by herself today.

"I need to be alone," Tenten murmured and the other girls watched her get up and leave.

"What's up with her?" Ino asked.

"Maybe she doesn't want her personal business spread around the school," Temari answered, shaking her head at the two girls.

"She'll get over it," Sakura shrugged.

"She will, but you two shouldn't have yelled it so loud. It really isn't any of our business," Hinata said softly. "You know how she feels about Neji."

Sakura and Ino exchanged looks and nodded their heads. They were feeling slightly ashamed of themselves. They'd make it a point to apologize to Tenten later. But until then…

Ino inched closer to Temari who was starting to feel uncomfortable about having her personal bubble invaded.

"Sooo, how was your date with Shikamaru…?

* * *

Tenten sat up on a tree branch and bit into her apple. She usually did this when she was upset about something. The tree branch was far enough from the ground anyway. The tree had so many leaves that it easily concealed her. No one could bother her.

That was until Tenten looked down and saw an unfamiliar figure walk up to the base of the tree. She squinted her eyes to get a closer look at the figure. He was a young man, but definitely too old for high school. He had to be in his late teens or early twenties. He had silver hair that was slicked back and when he turned slightly, she could see that he had purple eyes.

How'd he just manage to walk into the school? It was a closed campus. He couldn't see Tenten, but she was feeling extremely uncomfortable by his presence. There was something menacing about him, she could tell just from the aura he was giving off.

She was about to jump down and chase him off of campus when she heard another voice. It was Neji's voice to be exact.

"Hidan, what the hell are you doing here?"

The man called Hidan smirked menacingly and leaned against the tree trunk. "You weren't answering your calls or texts, so I decided to pay you a visit myself."

"You can't just walk onto campus! This is a school! Do you realize what the school could do to you and me if they found out who you are? Also I was in class, I couldn't answer the phone!" Neji hissed.

"Eh whatever. Did you get the shit that I told you to get?" he asked.

Neji sighed, "No, I haven't yet. I haven't had the time."

Hidan seemed annoyed by his answer, "Well you need to get it today. Otherwise our little problem will become a very big one."

"Correction, it's your problem, not mine," Neji corrected.

"No Hyuuga, it's our problem. Or should I remind you of our little deal," Hidan stood up straight and grabbed the front of Neji's shirt. "Listen you little shit, it's been two years and you haven't learned to respect me as your superior. If you keep this up, I'll break my end of the bargain."

Neji's eyes widened, "I never had respect for any of you. Never did, never will. I'm only forced to associate with you out of obligation."

Hidan's grip on Neji's shirt tightened, "You will fuckin' respect me, or I'll make sure your cousin and that little girlfriend of yours are taken care of."

Neji grabbed Hidan's hand and pushed it away, "I don't want to do this anymore."

Hidan looked at him with both anger and surprise, "You can't get out of our deal. Not alive or scot free anyway. Do you want people to know that you're…?"

"Enough!" Neji growled. "I never wanted to do this. But seeing as I have no other alternative, I will comply."

Hidan's smirk returned as he chuckled, "You're a smart one. Now remember, get the stuff by 7 pm tonight. I don't want to hear any excuses!"

"Deal," he grumbled.

"Heh, you know kid, sometimes I feel bad for you. You really have to wonder how your life would've been if your mom hadn't gone AWOL. But then I remember what a disrespectful sack of shit you are, and that makes it all better," Hidan chuckled. Neji flinched slightly. "It's cute though. I've seen even the noblest of guys crack after a while. But you…hehe kid you're something else. And all because of a girl too."

"Do not!" Neji began, a murderous looked in his eyes. "Do not bring Tenten into this! And do not bring my family into any of this! Remember this deal is as good as the first one who breaks it!"

Hidan chuckled, "Yeah whatever. 7 o'clock, kid."

Hidan walked away, leaving only Neji there. Tenten's eyes and mouth were wide open. She was pretty sure that she was not supposed to hear any of that.

The school bell rang and Neji , who had a tortured look on his face, turned around began walking towards the school.

Tenten, in the meantime, tried to process what she had just seen and heard. If her suspicions about Neji hiding something were strong before, they were absolutely proven certain now. She began to feel dizzy when she realized that Hidan had threatened her indirectly and that Neji agreed only after the threat. She tried to remember to breath.

She was done contemplating what to do. She would no matter what find out what it was that Neji was hiding. And she was determined now more than ever to rekindle their friendship…

* * *

_**Please Review. **_

_**Poll for next chapter! (Pick only one, I mean it) **_

_**A) The next chapter is centered around Neji and his thoughts. His thoughts reveal a few things about his life and feelings for Tenten. (No, I'm not revealing his secret just yet) **_

_**B) Tenten is working on something when she encounters Hidan, who is smirking at her. He walks up to her and tells her something extremely vague, but nonetheless tips her off about something. **_

_**Side Pairing Poll: SasuTen and KankuTen tied. So I need to poll this one more time. If it ties again, I'll do the picking. Don't let that happen. PICK ONE AND ONLY ONE! **_

_**A) Sasuke x Tenten**_

_**B) Kankuro x Tenten**_

_**Sooooo how'd I do? I didn't want to give too much away with Hidan and Neji's little exchange there. I guess I just love keeping you guys on the edge of your seats. I know I'm a little mean haha. Yes Hidan is in this story and a lot more characters have yet to be introduced so stay tuned! Classes start tomorrow so I will update this story every Sunday from now on. Next update is January 19****th****! Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! Plz R&R! Thanks! Til next time! **_

_**CherryXButterfly(Angel) **_


	5. Wanting What He Can't Have

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. **_

_**A/N 1/19/14: Okay let me answer two questions right now. Firstly, I know all of you are on the edge of your seats about Neji's secret. It will all come forth, but first there needs to be a little more romance between him and Tenten. By little I mean a lot. Because you'll all find out when Tenten does! Don't worry, it'll be soon! Second of all, I know some of you think that these polls are a little stupid, but I do them for a reason. I have a million ideas a day and have no control whatsoever over my imagination. The options that I give are the ideas that I like best but can't decide on which to actually put in. That's where you guys come in! Yes, your input actually matters to me. Anyway, here are the results from last chapter! **_

_**1****st**** Poll **_

_**Option A: 7**_

_**Option B: 5**_

_**2****nd**** Poll **_

_**SasuTen: 4**_

_**KankuTen: 9**_

_**Looks like A won this round! Sorry SasuTen fans, KankuTen won by 5 votes! If I do another NejiTen, I'll consider doing a SasuTen side pairing. I hate both of KankuTen and SasuTen, but I think it makes the story even more dramatic. Enjoy! **_

_**Warning: References to drinking and a bit of cussing.**_

_**Chapter 5: Wanting What He Can't Have**_

* * *

Neji had a scowl etched on his face as he drove home. Well if he could even call it home. Home was the place you went where you'd be surrounded by the people you love and who support you. With his father dead and his mother missing, it was just a place he slept, ate, and drank at.

He didn't view his drinking as a huge problem, even if the rest of the world did. That's the only thing that came out of the deal with Hidan that he was okay with. He always scored free alcohol and no one ever said anything to him. At first he didn't take to well to beer, but after two years of drinking himself numb, he'd developed a high tolerance for it.

He stared at the bag in the backseat from the corner of his eye. He just wanted to throw it out the window and drive out of town and never come back. But he couldn't do that, if he went missing like his mother had, there's no telling what would happen to the people that he loved.

Thinking about the people that he loved brought his family and a certain brunette to the forefront. He had always reasoned that he was doing this for them. He'd distanced himself from his family considerably. His uncle had tried to extend a hand and even offered to let him come live with them but Neji turned down the offer. Plus, whenever Hinata invited him to a family dinner, he just blew her off saying that he had other plans. He had to draw suspicion away from himself.

And then there was Tenten. That's what he hated the most about this deal. He couldn't talk to her, he couldn't hang out with her, and he definitely could not share how he felt about her. It made it really hard every day to see her looking at him with such malice and hurt until just recently. She had caught on that he had probably ended the friendship of reasonable grounds. No matter how much he wanted to just drive to her house and tell her everything, he could not and would not. He refused to drag her into his hell.

The thoughts swirled around his head, irritating him more than ever. God, he wanted a drink right now. It was the only thing that made his thoughts shut up. And to make matters even worse, his phone was buzzing nonstop. Hidan was an impatient man, and Neji eventually picked up the phone

"I'm driving! What the hell do you want?" Neji growled.

"Hey! Remember what I told you this afternoon, you little shit?" Hidan's voice barked from the other end of the line.

"You tell me every day, how the hell could I forget? So what do you want?"

"It's almost 7 o'clock. You got the stuff?" Hidan asked.

"I'm on my way right now, are you at my house?" Neji inquired.

"When am I not, dumbass?" he spat.

"This afternoon if I recall," Neji spat back.

"Yeah, whatever, just be here soon!" Hidan growled before hanging up.

Neji growled before throwing his phone in the backseat. Why was the universe so cruel to him? He was almost sure that he had done nothing to deserve this. Well, besides pushing away the people he loved and being a total ass to the girl he loved, he was sure there was nothing else.

He made a right turn on the road. His house was disconnected from the rest of the town. You had to go a little bit into the woods before you came across his house. A house that was sort of cut off from the rest of the world was both a curse and a blessing. Neji was a private person and not living in a neighborhood surrounded by nosy neighbors really helped. On the other hand, no one really knew what was going on inside of his house, and he wasn't sure he liked that very much.

He stopped in front of the house. There was no road or driveway so he could park wherever he wanted to. He clutched the steering wheel tightly and looked at his house. He had come to hate this place more than anything. It was rather tragic. He reluctantly got out of the car, taking the bag with him.

He walked around the house, grateful that there was an exit/entrance that connected to his bedroom. He rarely used the front door anymore. He didn't want to see the rest of his house. In fact, he rarely cooked at home anymore, buying food from cheap fast food stores. It wasn't good for him, but he didn't care about the chances of possible health problems or early death in the future. He had already been a walking corpse for two years.

He opened the door, and sure enough Hidan was already there. Neji wanted to strangle the man for invading his sanctuary every week, but the sooner Hidan got what he wanted, he left Neji alone.

Hidan smirked as he leaned back on the old computer chair. "You better have the stuff."

"Don't I always?" Neji mumbled, throwing the bag at him.

"Oh, and I need your help with…the problem tonight," Hidan went on.

Neji hated when he asked that of him. It happened all too frequently now. "I help you out every time. Spare me this time please?"

Hidan laughed, "The deal, Hyuuga."

Neji sighed, "Fine, but then don't bother me for the rest of the week, got it?"

"No promises Hyuuga. Orders come in all of the time…" Hidan smirked once again.

"Well then let's get this over with," Neji grumbled as Hidan led the way down the many halls of his house. The smell of the house was putrid, but Neji had grown accustomed to it. Hidan opened a door and Neji gulped at the sight. This was going to be a long night…

* * *

Neji plopped down on his pillow after a very long shower. It was two in the morning and he had school in about 6 hours. He wasn't going to sleep at all tonight, not after what he had to do over the last several hours. He'd thought that after doing this on a weekly basis for the last two years would desensitize him. But no it didn't. The only thing that ever did the trick was a lot of alcohol to help him forget. Unfortunately, Hidan had broken into the fridge in his room and taken what was left. Meaning he'd have to wait until he restocked, which wouldn't be until the end of the week.

He didn't care how late it was, he knew that the Uchiha brothers never slept. Or they just slept very little. But he knew Sasuke would be awake. He picked up the phone and speed dialed Sasuke.

"Neji?" Sasuke's groggy voice made it apparent to Neji that Sasuke had been asleep. He had guessed wrong this time.

"Uhh yeah, I called for a favor…" Neji mumbled.

"Let me guess, you had business tonight and you want me to sneak you some of my brother's beer?" Sasuke mumbled into the phone.

Neji smiled wryly. Sasuke knew him way too well. "You know the routine."

Sasuke sighed, "In the morning all right? I can't leave tonight. Itachi's home."

Neji groaned a little bit. "Fine."

He hung up the phone and threw it somewhere and groaned. He really needed a drink and normally he'd come home drunk, but today was the first time in a long while that he had gone the whole day being sober. He hated the feeling.

Suddenly he wondered what Tenten would think if she saw him in this state. The girl he knew now was much different from the girl that he knew back then. She might hit him; the girl had one hell of an arm. She might hug him, or even offer to go along with him. If he were anyone else, he would've welcomed that possibility. But he couldn't be selfish and do that to her. She was one of the main reasons he was doing this. All he wanted was to protect her. He just prayed that he would have the strength to continue to stay away from her…

* * *

Tenten opened up her locker and took out a few books. Usually she would've been able to get them out and leave, but there was too much on her mind, namely the little exchange between Neji and that weird guy under the tree. What was she supposed to do? Confront Neji? Yeah, because that had worked out so well in the past. Neji was in trouble, very big trouble. And she wanted so much just to save him.

"Soooo, Tenten," Tenten looked to the corner of her to see the last person she wanted to deal with at the moment. It was Temari's brother, Kankuro. He was okay at first, but he had become more and more creepy as time went on. He had a major crush on Tenten since they came to Konoha. He was, let's just say, less than subtle about his feelings. He was annoyingly persistent as well.

"Not now Kankuro, I have way too much on my mind," she groaned, slamming her locker door and began to walk away. Kankuro, however, managed to grab her by the wrist.

"Then let's talk about it over pizza and a movie?" he grinned.

"The answer is still no, and you have about 10 seconds to let go of my wrist," she growled. His grip on her wrist only tightened.

"Say yes, and I'll let you go," he persisted.

"Let go of my arm!" she growled.

"Then say yes!" Kankuro answered.

"Kankuro!" Temari yelled from behind. Tenten couldn't have been happier to see her friend. "The girl doesn't want you, can't you take a hint?"

Kankuro let go of her wrist and glared at his sister, "It's really none of your business, sis."

Temari grabbed the back of his head and yanked his head down by his hair. "My friend, my business. Also, you're becoming way too creepy for your own good. Keep doing this, and she'll have a restraining order."

"I'm already considering it," Tenten mumbled, massaging her slightly bruised wrist.

"Ow, ow! Come on Temari! Tenten, I just want one chance," Kankuro pleaded.

"I don't like you like that. And you aren't doing yourself any favors by continuously asking," Tenten said.

Temari let go of her brother's hair and he stood up straight, "I'll get you somehow Tenten, you can't say no to me forever."

"Yeah, watch me," Tenten rolled her eyes and began walking away.

"Playing hard to get, I like that," Kankuro grinned.

Temari rolled her eyes, "Or maybe she just finds you to be annoyingly repulsive and never wants to see or talk to you ever again. Persistence isn't always sexy, little brother."

"Yeah, whatever," Kankuro yawned and turned on his heels. Temari shook her head and began walking after Tenten. She always had to play the part of her brother's apologist. It was the worst…

* * *

Neji had watched the whole thing from the corner of his eye. Kankuro made his blood boil. If he had had the luxury, Kankuro would've landed in the ER and maybe the morgue a long time ago.

"Watching the creep hit on your girl again, Neji?" Naruto asked. Well, it wasn't much of a question. The whole school was well aware of the fact that Tenten had always unofficially been Neji's girl. It went without saying. The only people who seemed to be unaware of that were Neji's fan club and Kankuro.

"Tenten is not my girl, never has been, never will be," Neji groaned, taking out a book and slamming his locker.

"Whatever you say. You seem to be in a good mood today," Naruto commented sarcastically.

"I'd be having an even better day if Sasuke was here with my request,"Neji groaned, hitting his head against the locker door.

"Keep doing that and you'll end up with some brain damage," Naruto warned.

"Yes, you would know a lot about brain damage, wouldn't you?" Neji mumbled.

"Neji, don't be an ass," Naruto said, leaning against the lockers.

"Then don't make stupid comments," Neji said back.

"Why do you want beer anyway? You never drink at school," Naruto asked.

"No I don't. But if you had the night that I did, you'd be begging for a buzz too," Neji groaned.

"Oh shit, you took care of business while sober?" Naruto blinked. When that happened, Neji was usually hard to deal with.

"Shut up Naruto. Don't need anyone asking me any questions," Neji huffed.

"Oh well, here comes Sasuke," Naruto said, changing the subject.

Neji looked over and saw Sasuke coming over. He didn't expect Sasuke to hand deliver it to him in front of the whole school. But just one bottle would've been nice.

"Before you ask, it's in my car. Get it after school," Sasuke said.

"Will do," Neji nodded his head. This was not a good start to the day.

"He took care of things while he was sober," Naruto explained. Sasuke gave Neji a sympathetic look. Doing what Neji had to do was difficult in itself, but to do it fully in his senses was unimaginable.

"Neji, if you want, we could…" Sasuke began to offer but Neji shook his head.

"No I don't need you getting involved in my shit."

"We already kind of are Neji, and we'll stick by you to the very end," Naruto smiled.

"Remember Neji, the Uchiha are partially to blame for your predicament," Sasuke sighed. Guilt was one of the reasons him and Neji were so close now.

"Thanks you guys, but you guys have already done me the biggest favor by keeping everything to yourself. I just need you guys to continue to keep your mouths shut about this whole thing," Neji smiled, looking at his two best friends.

The boys nodded their heads and relapsed back into silence before they heard the bell ring again.

Neji was about to head towards his class when Tenten walked by him and said, "My house after school Hyuuga, we have to finish the project."

Neji sighed, "Yeah, okay."

Being around her would be extremely uncomfortable after the weekend's events. And it would not help his resolve either. He'd need a lot of beer to get through it. But he decided against it. If there was too much alcohol in his system, he would probably end up doing something he really regretted.

Tenten in the meantime had an agenda. She'd heard tiny bits of the boys' conversation without really meaning to. But if she could put the pieces together, she was sure that she could figure it out. What she didn't know however, was the sheer magnitude of Neji's secret...

* * *

_**Please Review**_

_**Poll (or my best ideas for the next chapter) **_

_**A) Neji and Tenten end up studying and when Neji has to use the bathroom, Hidan calls. Tenten picks up the phone and Hidan ends up telling her some huge things, but it's too vague to really figure anything out. **_

_**B) We learn why exactly only Naruto and Sasuke are in on the secret. Tenten is nearby and overhears them accidentally. Her curiosity about the situation only goes grows stronger. **_

_**C) Temari has to go and get something when she overhears Neji, Naruto, and Sasuke talking about something. They're talking very quietly so Temari hears bits and pieces of it, but she tells Tenten about what she's heard, and the two of them start keeping a close eye on the three boys. **_

_**D) All of the above/combination of all three**_

_**Four options this time! I added that final option in case you liked all three. Sorry I made Kankuro such a creeper, but we can't have Tenten falling for anyone whose name isn't Neji Hyuuga! Sooo, hmmm looks like we learned a quite a few things about Neji this chapter. I'm curious, what do you guys think his secret might be? I guess I'm not helping by keeping the suspense up! But what did you guys think? Did I make your curiosity just as bad as Tenten's? I hope so! Next update is January 26****th****! Remember I update every Sunday! Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! Plz R&R! Thanks! Til next time! **_

_**CherryXButterfly(Angel) **_


	6. Bit by Bit

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. **_

_**A/N 1/28/14: Wow, everyone seemed to guess that Neji is a drug dealer. And I'll tell you right now, that you're not even close! His house is not a drug den I promise. The bag of stuff is not a bag of crack or cocaine. I promise. But it is pretty bad, and it won't be pretty when I reveal it. I don't know, drug dealing has been done before and I'm pretty sure what I have in store hasn't been, so hope you still stay with the story! Anyway here are the results of last week's poll! **_

_**Option A: 2**_

_**Option B: 0**_

_**Option C: 1**_

_**Option D: 9**_

_**Warning: None **_

_**Chapter 6: Bit by Bit**_

* * *

Tenten was sighing in frustration. She needed to be heading home, but Temari decided to say goodbye to Shikamaru, and that was taking more than 10 minutes. She didn't want to walk into the classroom where they were. She'd done it once, and she saw things that she never again wanted to.

She tapped on the door lightly, "Come on you guys, I really have to go."

She heard a muffled sound and a giggle. She scowled a little bit. Was school really the best place to hook up? Temari walked out with a grin on her face and her lips were a bit chapped. Tenten pretended not to notice.

"Ready to go?" Tenten mumbled.

"Yeah, let me go get something from my locker first," Temari answered, and Tenten rolled her eyes. "Okay, but hurry up, I have somewhere to be!"

Temari nodded her head, "Fine, go out to the car, I'll be there in a few."

Tenten rolled her eyes once again and headed towards the entrance. If Shikamaru came back, those few minutes would soon turn into a few hours.

Temari, intent on actually sticking to her word, quickly made her way to her locker. The lockers were huge, which had its advantages and disadvantages. Though as of late, Temari had begun to see the advantages. She smiled as she thought about it. She quickly grabbed the thing that she needed and was about to close her locker when she heard Neji's voice.

"How much were you able to get Sasuke?" was the first thing she heard coherently.

"Enough to last a few weeks if you have 2-3 drinks a day," Sasuke answered.

"You know that never does it for me," Neji answered.

'_Since when does Neji drink?' _

"Yeah, well think about cutting back. Do you know what your liver is going to look like if you keep drinking the way you do?" Naruto pointed out.

"Do you know what your face is going to look like if you keep lecturing me about drinking?" Neji growled.

"Hey, back off, he's worried about you," Sasuke broke in.

"Yeah, calm down man," Naruto said.

Neji mumbled something that Temari couldn't hear before he said, "Also don't ever mention my house or the weekly thing that I have to around here. You know how big of trouble I'll be in. And you guys will too."

Temari's eyebrows furrowed as she took in that last part. What the hell was he talking about? What weekly thing?

"I have to be at Tenten's house. I'll be there until 6, so don't call or text," was the last thing she heard Neji say. They started walking away; apparently they took the back door instead of the main one.

Temari's first thought was to run right to the car and warn Tenten about what she had just seen and heard. Her second was to run after the boys and pin them to the ground until they fessed up, but Temari decided that that would probably result in some regrettable consequences.

So she stuck by her first thought and ran out the door quickly. It had taken her longer than expected and Tenten had a less than pleased expression on her face.

"A few minutes huh?" Tenten folded her arms and tapped her foot.

"I'm sorry, there was something…" Temari mumbled.

"Shikamaru's tongue?" Tenten asked sarcastically.

Temari huffed, she was getting really tired of Tenten's constant sour attitude. "Just because I was late doesn't mean I was making out with Shikamaru. You don't have to be such a bitch about everything."

Tenten was a bit taken aback. She was used to being called a bitch by those who didn't like her, mainly Neji's fan club, but not one of her best friends. "Look I'm sorry but I have somewhere to be right now. Neji and I have to get that project done."

The mention of Neji's name immediately got rid of any annoyance she was feeling. "Yeah, about Neji…"

Tenten had opened the car door and was about to get in when Temari said it. She arched an eyebrow, wondering where Temari was going with this. "What about Neji?"

Temari thought for a second, "Well, I think he has a problem."

Tenten chuckled a bit, "Yeah, I didn't need you to tell me that."

The serious look on Temari's face didn't change, "No, I mean I think he has an addiction problem."

Tenten slammed the car door shut and shook her head, "Don't be ridiculous. Neji isn't a user."

"Okay let me rephrase that: I think Neji has a drinking problem," Temari backpedalled.

For some reason, Tenten thought that was the funniest thing that she'd ever heard come out of Temari's mouth. It was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. She burst out laughing. "Please Temari. As far as I know Neji, he doesn't drink or use."

"Yeah as far as you know. The two of you haven't been friends for two years. He just randomly ended your friendship, maybe that's why," Temari pointed out.

"Temari, where is all of this coming from?" Tenten asked, shaking her head.

"I heard him talking to Sasuke and Naruto. Well, they were talking, he was yelling. They were telling him to cut back on drinking, but that only pissed him off," Temari answered.

Tenten shook her head, "No, you must have heard wrong. There's just no way that Neji Hyuuga of all people…"

Temari sighed and got into the car and slammed the door. Tenten followed suit and sighed. Temari looked over at her friend, "Tenten look I'm sorry, but I really think Neji has a huge problem."

Tenten shook her head again, "No, not Neji."

Temari tried again, "Did something happen to him in the last two years?"

Tenten shook her head before remembering that something had indeed happened. "His mother went AWOL. She literally disappeared one morning, never to be heard from ever again. She didn't even leave a note. And that's when things got really weird between us."

Temari raised an eyebrow, "Maybe that's why he's drinking now."

Tenten turned to look at her friend, "Are you sure that's exactly what you heard?"

"Affirmative. So now what are you going to do about this?"Temari inquired.

Tenten banged her head into the steering wheel, "What am I supposed to do?"

Temari huffed, "Well, if you truly care about him, you'd try to help him."

"Who said I cared about him?" she said.

"Well, your reaction gives it all away. Besides it's obvious to everyone around you how you feel about him and how he feels about you."

Tenten groaned and mumbled something but Temari couldn't understand it.

"Well I have to finish up that project tonight. Maybe I could get something out of him. And don't tell anyone. Let's keep this to ourselves and keep a closer eye on the, okay?" Tenten requested. She peered over to see that Temari was nodding her head.

"All right…"

* * *

Studying was quiet, Tenten wasn't in much of the mood to talk and Neji was always quiet unless spoken to. Tenten instead observed Neji's body language and face. His face gave no indication that he was hiding anything. His body language was stiffer than usual. His breathing was a little erratic too.

Tenten put down what she was doing and turned to face Neji, "Are you okay?"

Neji paused and looked at her, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I can hear your breathing from a mile away, are you sure you're okay?" Tenten tried again.

Neji sighed and closed his eyes, "If I said yes, would you stop asking?"

"I'll stop asking if you tell me the truth."

Neji sighed, "You're impossible you know that?"

"You used to tell me everything Neji. Even if it was something you considered stupid or miniscule. What happened to you?" she blurted out. She wanted to slap herself immediately afterwards.

Neji groaned and looked at her, "This again? Ten, please it would be best if you stay out of my business."

Tenten smiled a bit, "You called me Ten…"

Neji's eyes widened as he realized what he had just done. No, he was getting close to her again. That couldn't happen. "I—have to use the bathroom."

Neji bolted out of the room without as much as a warning or reaction from Tenten. She smiled a little bit though. She was breaking down his walls. Neji calling her by her old nickname was a tiny bit of evidence.

That's when she heard Neji's phone ring rather loudly. Tenten took a peak at the caller ID. Her eyes widened and she gasped as she read the letters that spelled out Hidan's name.

Now it wasn't in Tenten's nature to snoop around, but after the little tip from Temari today, she couldn't help but pick up the phone. Thankfully Hidan didn't waste time with introductions.

"Hey kid! You better get your ass over to the house right now! I don't give a shit what you're doing, you need to come home right now! There's a…problem…in the forest! Get here soon or you're in deep shit!" his voice screeched. Tenten cringed at every word.

Just as she hit the end button, Neji walked back into the room. A look of rage crossed his face when he saw her.

"What the hell are you doing with my phone?" he growled, crossing the room and snatched the phone from her ear. She cringed at the roughness.

"Your phone rang so I—," she started but Neji only grew angrier and angrier.

"You have no right to touch anything that belongs to me, do you understand? I didn't give you that right!" he spat.

Oh no, if he thought that she would just sit there and take that, then he really didn't know her at all. "Oh hell no, don't talk to me about rights! You're in my house, yelling at me! I picked up your phone because it was ringing! Yes, I took a message!"

Tenten got the reaction she had wanted from him when his eyes widened beyond recognition. They looked like someone had taken two Frisbees and glued them onto his face.

"Tenten, this is no laughing matter. WHAT. DID. YOU. HEAR?!" his voice was so low that she felt like she had been cornered by the killer in a horror movie.

"I'll tell you if you promise to tell me what's going on," Tenten struck up a deal.

Neji gritted his teeth, "Tenten I don't have time to play games with you. What did you hear and who was it?"

"All you have to do is tell me what's going on," she stayed firm. "Why can't you just tell me?"

"Because I just can't! You really don't get it do you? You need to stay away from me!" he exploded.

"I know you're hiding something Neji! I was up in the tree when that Hidan guy walked onto campus!" she screamed.

Neji froze, "You—you heard..."

"I heard enough Neji. Now I know why you ended our friendship so long ago. He was the reason right? He's why you're drinking too…" she whispered.

He bit his lip, wondering what he should do. There was no way he could deny anything now, she already knew way too much. It was time for damage control. "Tenten, you need to forget anything and everything that you heard."

He was kidding right? How could she? "I can't Neji. I tried my hardest to forget everything that I'd heard. But I can't."

"Well you have to. If you really were there, then you'd understand why," Neji said, grabbing his things and heading towards the door.

"I will find out Hyuuga," she promised.

"I mean it Tenten. The less you know the safer you will be," he warned.

"Fine, then meet me at the tree tomorrow. I'll forget everything if you promise to tell me why you really walked away. Nothing more, nothing less. And then I'll never bug you again."

Neji turned his head slightly, "Tenten, I can't. That would involve…"

"I'll be waiting Neji," she said with finality, plopping down on her bed. Neji didn't say anything more and promptly departed from the room and the house…

* * *

That had not gone the way she had planned. She could have said it with a lot more sense and tact, but instead she decided to lose her temper. Great, that was a major step backwards. She had decided to take a walk, something she hadn't done in a very long time. What the hell was she thinking? Why did Neji have this kind of effect on her? She always seemed to lose her mind when it came to him.

Walking was all right, that was of course until she saw Naruto and Sasuke coming. Crap, if they were talking about Neji earlier, than there's no way in hell they'd slip up now.

Tenten ran behind a tree and leaned closer to them so she could hear what they were saying.

"Damn, I've never seen Neji so pissed before. Even when he's sober," Naruto said.

"That's because he's normally not so pissed like that. Something is setting him off most likely," Sasuke answered.

"Maybe it's because he's been hiding his secret for too long. Not too many people know," Naruto concluded.

"Even less people would know, if you hadn't been sneaking around his place that day," Tenten cold see the scowl clear as day.

"Hey, Hinata was worried about him. When I found out, I had to lie to her and say that he just wanted to be alone and that he wasn't hiding anything. You aren't in a relationship; you don't know how much I hate lying to her. Especially when it involves her cousin."

"Well, you shouldn't have snuck around," Sasuke continued.

"Hey! You're only in the loop because you have some unfortunate family connections," Naruto spat.

"You're making it sound like I'm proud of knowing his secret. I mean I didn't know what my family was doing up until I was 8. I'd almost prefer that they'd been running a drug ring to this. At least then, I could have redeemed the family name in some way. And them dragging Neji into this…" Sasuke's voice was at a very low.

"Why did they drag Neji into this? Why did they drag other people into this?" Naruto questioned.

"Everyone came willingly. Well unless you count Neji. Even then, it was said he came without so much as a single protest. Itachi didn't tell me the specifics or anything. Only person who'd know is Neji, and we both know that he won't talk," Sasuke replied.

"I really don't know how the guy does it…I mean his house is full of h—," Naruto began, only to have Sasuke's hand over his mouth cut him off.

"Dumbass! Don't say it here! You don't know who could be listening!" Sasuke hissed. "If the wrong person hears this, then we're all screwed. Don't forget why Neji is doing this in the first place!"

"Shit, that's right, sorry about that…" Naruto apologized, and the two walked off in silence.

Tenten in the meantime bit her lip and clenched her fists. Okay, that really didn't help her curiosity at all. Now she was determined more than ever to figure out what the hell was going on. But she couldn't do this alone. She would need some help. She'd already enlisted the help of Temari. And now that she knew Hinata wasn't blind to the situation either, she might need her help as well. Her stomach turned, afraid of what was to come next…

* * *

_**Please Review**_

_**Poll for next chapter! **_

_**A) Neji does meet Tenten under the tree, but instead of telling her why he walked away, he comes clean about his feelings. But he tells her that they can't be together because he's too dangerous to be around. **_

_**B) Same thing as option A, except that Tenten convinces him that they could keep it a secret and that she won't snoop around in his business. But her curiosity is going to get the best of her, forcing her to go behind his back. **_

_**C) Neji doesn't show and Tenten enlists the help of the Hinata and Temari to figure out what's going on. Tenten overhears a conversation between the boys where Neji, unaware of the fact that she's there, confesses his feelings for her to Sasuke and Naruto. **_

_**Okay that was chapter 6! Yeah not my best chapter, I'm not too happy about it, but it's not terrible I hope. AND I AM SO SORRY I GOT IT UP 2 DAYS LATE! My health tanked completely this week and I'm still feeling shitty. And I've been watching a little too much Gossip Girl I've come to realize from my other stories and this one as of late. Ah well. Again, I have given it away that Neji is NOT a drug dealer. It's a much more horrible thing than that, but it's fun to see your guesses. So now do you have any guesses? I'm sorry the guessing game is a little fun for me. I solemnly swear to get the next chapter up by February 2****nd****! Remember I update every Sunday! Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! Plz R&R! Thanks! Til next time! **_

_**CherryXButterfly(Angel)**_


	7. Catharsis

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. **_

_**A/N 2/2/14: It's February…holy crap how'd that happen? 2014 is flying by already, and I'm starting to feel old T_T. But anyway, I looked over at your guesses and I was amused by a lot of the guesses as to what Neji's secret is. But I will say this right now: One reviewer came very close to being right. I won't say who though, because there's no fun in that. Anyway here are the results for last week's poll! **_

_**Option A: 1**_

_**Option B: 0**_

_**Option C: 13**_

_**Well then I think you know which option won. Well this'll be fun to write as it usually is. **_

_**SASUSAKU: I got a few requests for this pairing. I used to really like this pairing until earlier on last year. I mean I don't hate them as couple, but they aren't my favorite. But I've decided that I'll add them in there just because I think they could both use each other. But the pairing won't appear till later. Happy now? Well enough talking, back to le story! Enjoy! **_

_**Warning: None **_

_**Chapter 7: Catharsis**_

* * *

Tenten contemplated whether or not she should pick up the phone and dial Neji's number. He had been avoiding her all night and it was pissing her off. The conversation between Sasuke and Naruto was still buzzing around in her mind. And the more she thought about it, the more curious she became. Whatever Neji was hiding, the answers would be found inside of his house. No wonder he had gotten so riled up when she asked him to meet up at his house.

But did she really want to break into Neji's house? It seemed a little too extreme, even for her. And she was Tenten, who went to any length to get what she wanted.

But it was different when it came to Neji. She didn't like to cross the line when it came to him, and she only did if she had to.

Well she'd get her answers tomorrow, or not. Either way, she had no intention of giving up. She still cared about him and she was still willing to do anything she could for him. It sucked because she spent two years of her life trying to convince herself that she didn't care about him anymore. And at the first sign that he was in trouble, she went out of her way. Even though he had made it perfectly clear that he didn't want her involved with him.

Her phone buzzed and she looked at the screen eagerly, hoping that it was Neji. To her disappointment, it was Ino. Apparently she had something juicy to say but Tenten honestly couldn't care less. If it was gossip about who was making out with whom behind the dumpster again, she really didn't want to hear about it.

Sakura and Ino were her friends, but she didn't feel as attached to them as she did Temari and Hinata. That was probably because they weren't shameless gossips.

Her phone buzzed again and she made a face. Ino never really learned to take a hint. But when she looked at the screen, it was a text from Temari. While it wasn't Neji, she was glad it was someone who wouldn't want to talk about absolute nonsense.

'_**Did u find out anything?' **_

Tenten paused for a second. Just how much could she tell Temari? Just out of respect for her former friend, she'd have to leave it at, _**'I found out a few things.' **_

Temari was a speedy texter, _**'Well, duz he hav a drinking problem?' **_

'_**I don't know. He hasn't given me any sign…' **_she texted back.

'_**Well then, keep your eyes on him…' **_

Tenten didn't feel the need to text back, so she lay back on the bed. She had a feeling something was going to happen the next day, even if she couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was. Oh well, she'd see what tomorrow would bring…

* * *

Neji had been in huge trouble when he had gotten home. He wasn't about to explain to them that the reason he was so late was because his project partner had been the one to pick up his phone. If they ever found that out…well he didn't really want to think about that. Nothing good ever came out of getting involved with the likes of them.

His project partner. She was all he had thought about the entire time that they had administered his punishment for not being there on time. He was all right taking it, even if it meant that he would hardly be able to walk afterwards.

The beatings were brutal to say the least. He had gotten fairly used to them by now. He just learned to think of other things while it happened. It was an extremely cliché thing to do. It wasn't that he couldn't protect himself. He could take them on easily, but if he even tried, the consequences would be worse. Even then, sometimes he felt like fighting back.

But he had to remember why he was taking all of this. If he didn't take it, then everyone else would. Even Naruto and Sasuke didn't know about this, and he intended to keep it that way.

Tenten was already on his case and the bruises that covered his body probably wouldn't help his case. Still he had taken enough beatings to know how to cover them up. He knew how to cover up the bruises on his face and make it seem as if nothing had happened. He wore long sleeves anyway, so no one would see the extent of his torture. As long as no one touched him in anyway, there wouldn't be a problem.

Showers were the worst part of the whole ordeal. His body stung and ached as the water cascaded down. It was relaxing in a way, but mostly painful. The minute he dried his hair and got into his pajamas he sunk into his bed and curled up into a ball.

He was scared. He wasn't going to lie. No matter how tough of a front he put on, the fact of the matter was that he was a scared little boy still. He knew it, and he had even admitted it to himself. And most nights he felt alone. Loneliness was an ugly feeling. He had felt it his entire life. He had his mother for most of his life, but she was always working. His father had died when he was only 4 years old and after that his mother found herself unable to really look at him. He reminded her too much of her husband. That's probably why she barely gave him love. Well that's what Neji had always assumed anyway.

So when she disappeared, it confirmed that she couldn't handle being around her son anymore. And Neji, despite of his efforts to keep a straight face, couldn't hide his feelings from his pillow. He was an unwanted child.

The only person who had ever really wanted him around was Tenten and his uncle's family. But tensions between his mother and his uncle rose heavily at the time of his father's death, so he almost never saw them. If he was even caught talking to them, his mom would lock him in his room for hours on end. So when Tenten came into his life in kindergarten, she was like his guardian angel. She went out of her way to be nice to him and stuck by him since then. He always valued and cherished her and their friendship. But of course the feelings of friendship began to run deeper when he turned 13.

Yes, he had always had feelings for her, but it took him at least 2 years to even admit that to himself. He wasn't sure that she'd felt the same about him. When they'd entered high school together, he was no longer the lanky, long haired freak everyone had come to known. Puberty had done wonders for him and as a result he got too much attention from the girls. But he always had eyes for just one girl. And he made sure that everyone but her, knew that.

But just as he was plucking up the courage to finally tell her how he felt, his mother disappeared and he immediately became a target of the people he was being forced to associate with. And that's why he had alienated most of his friends, family, and most of all Tenten. He didn't think he could live with himself if something happened to her especially.

And now she was very close to finding out his secret. No, he couldn't let that happen. He had been living with her hurt and hatred for two years, but he would take that over the look on her face when she saw exactly what he was hiding. That'd be pain that he couldn't bear to put her through.

The tears spilled onto his pillow and he didn't care much. This had become routine for him. Because tomorrow when he woke up, it would be as if none of this happened.

* * *

Tenten knew that this would happen, as sad as she was to admit it. Of course Neji wouldn't show up. She was stupid for even thinking that he would. He had a huge wall built around him, and no matter how hard she would try and tear it down, he would stay resilient. She'd always hated that about him.

Even his own cousin couldn't read him. They weren't particularly close, but there was a level of love and respect between them. Of course, they were family. Even then, she felt like she had to enlist both her and Temari's help.

**Earlier that day… **

Tenten had just picked up Temari and Hinata. They always left the house an hour before school started because it gave them time to just hang out. That was another reason why Tenten was closer to them than the other two girls.

School was a 15 minute drive from Hinata's house, but they always kept the conversation going even if there wasn't much to talk about.

"Okay Tenten, spill it. What did you find out last night?" Temari asked as they hit a stop light. Hinata looked between the two girls, confused. Oh right, she was completely out of the loop.

Tenten closed her eyes and took a deep breath before answering the question, "Neji's definitely hiding something, but I think it's much more serious than a drinking problem."

Hinata inched closer as the conversation shifted to her cousin. Did they just say drinking problem?

Temari looked confused, "Oh?"

"I can't exactly tell you what it is. But if you ask him certain questions, it gets him all riled up. If you go near his phone especially," Tenten finished.

Hinata sighed, "So you've caught on have you?"

The two girls turned to the girl in the backseat. Did she know something about this and she had been keeping it from them?

"Hinata, did you know about Neji's secret?" Tenten asked.

Hinata shook her head, "I wish I knew exactly what it was. I've tried for years to figure it out. He'd closed himself off so much that it was impossible to even get a simple 'hi' out of him. Naruto finally decided to talk to him and when he did, he just told me that Neji was going through a lot of things. I decided to buy it but I knew that he was lying to me."

"So, you've known that Neji's been hiding something, and you're only telling us now?" Temari demanded.

Hinata shook her head, "I wasn't too sure at first, but you two just confirmed it."

Tenten drew in a breath, "Well, you are correct Hinata, Naruto does know something. I heard him and Sasuke talking. Neji seems to trust them with everything."

Hinata bit her lip and Temari shook her head. But that's when an idea popped into her head. "I don't think we can crack this separately. I think we'll need to work together to figure out what's going on."

"Temari why would you…" Tenten began.

"…help you guys out? Because believe it or not, Neji is still my friend. And so are you two. And if it takes getting into his business to help him out, then that's what I'll do," she finished.

"Temari, but how are you going to…?" Hinata asked.

"I'm dating Shikamaru. He has information on a lot of people. He may be lazy, but he always has accurate information," Temari explained.

The girls smiled, but Tenten spoke up, "All right, I have a feeling that Neji isn't going to show for the meeting I asked for. So after school today, we start our investigation, all right?"

The girls nodded their heads as Tenten pulled into the school parking lot…

* * *

**Present time… **

Well it looked as if they'd have to start their investigation after school then. Tenten wasn't exactly Nancy Drew or Sherlock Holmes, but she was very perceptive. With the right clues, she was able to piece things together relatively quickly. But Neji had done such an excellent job of concealing things and covering up his tracks that Tenten needed to dig much deeper than usual. Maybe she should have enlisted Sakura and Ino as well, but because of their gossipy nature, Tenten quickly shoved that idea out of her head.

She sighed and walked away from the tree and was about to head back inside of the school when she heard a buzz of conversation coming from the side of the building. She was about to shake it off when she realized that it was Neji's voice that was talking. It looked like a change of plans; she'd have to start her investigation then and there.

"All right, what the hell happened last night Neji?" Sasuke asked.

"Tenten picked up Hidan's call. I'm not sure what she heard or what Hidan inadvertently told her, but I think she knows something," Neji's voice sounded more pained than angry.

"You could have asked," Naruto suggested.

"I did. She simply refused to answer. She knows something, I just feel it," Neji growled.

"Neji…" Sasuke muttered grabbing his wrist only to have Neji hiss in pain. Sasuke immediately withdrew his hand and gaped at Neji.

"Are you okay, man?" Naruto questioned, looking down at Neji's wrist.

"I—yeah I'm perfectly fine," Neji mumbled. Even from far away, Tenten could tell that he was lying. He always mumbled when he lied.

"You're lying," Sasuke thankfully caught on. "Pull up your sleeves Hyuuga!"

"Why?" Neji asked.

"Just do it, or I'll do it for you," Sasuke demanded.

Tenten heard it go quiet for a while. She assumed that Neji was slowly lifting up his sleeves, because the next thing she heard was Naruto shout, "What the hell!? Where did these come from?"

Tenten couldn't peer over and see for fear that she would get caught. She was scared but at the same time curious.

"I—well these are from…" Neji began.

"They did it to you didn't they? This was the punishment that you received for screwing up," it wasn't a question from the way that Sasuke had said it.

"Why does it matter?" Neji growled defensively. "I knew that this would happen. It all came with the territory"

"Why the hell are you letting them do this to you? Why the hell aren't you putting up a fight?" Naruto demanded frantically.

"What's the point of fighting back, huh? If it'll save even more people from getting roped into this, I'd let them drag my body through hell and back," Neji answered.

"That's not why you're doing this," Sasuke said in a low tone.

Neji's next words were dripping with venom, "You don't know anything Sasuke."

"I think I do actually. You aren't doing this for your family, are you? Even I know that the Hyuuga can protect themselves, they are a powerful family. You're doing this for someone else…"

"Someone else?" Naruto asked, confusion coating his voice.

"It's for my family," Neji affirmed.

"You know Hyuuga you aren't doing yourself any favors by telling yourself that. We know that you know that you're family doesn't need you protecting them. It's for Tenten, that's why you're so hell bent on keeping her in the dark," Sasuke cut in.

Tenten's pounding heart suddenly stopped. For her? He was doing something for her?

"Uchiha I'm warning you…" Neji growled.

"Neji, I'm your friend. You tried to get me and Naruto and to an extent yourself to believe that the only reason you pushed Tenten out of your life wasn't because you didn't want her involved in all of this. It's because she's the person you're trying to protect. Even those people are aware that she's the one person you care about above all else," Sasuke said calmly.

Naruto didn't say anything, Tenten assumed that he wasn't surprised to hear it. She, on the other hand, was. But until she heard the confirmation from his mouth, she wouldn't believe it.

"Uchiha, what the hell do you want me to do?" Neji's voice was frantic.

"I want you to admit it. Set yourself free. Stop lying to yourself," Sasuke whispered.

The next thing that Neji would say would make Tenten's heart explode. "Fine, you want to hear it then? Yes, it's all for Tenten! I don't just care for her! She was the one person who understood me and was able to break down my walls. You wanted to hear this too, then hear it! I love her! I love her more than anything else on this planet. And you have no idea how much it hurts to be away from her, but I can't put her life in danger! I'd go to the bottom of Hell if it meant saving her! Are you happy now? I certainly hope you are because you'd be the only ones I can make happy! If there's one thing I know, it's that I can't be with the woman that I love or even make her happy because of this secret!"

Sasuke and Naruto seemed dumfounded by Neji's outburst. It was not like him to explode like that, even when he was at his most frustrated. But it was a start; Neji was starting to open up, even if it was in the form of a violent outburst.

Tenten felt her entire body turn to jelly. Did he really just say that he loved her? She had to keep a hand over her mouth to keep herself from vomiting.

And she felt that way because two crucial questions swirled around her mind: Was she willing to stick around to find out what his secret was if he was hiding it from her to save her life? And would she be able to stick around after finding out?

But there was a third question that overshadowed the other two very quickly…

_Do I love him too…?_

* * *

_**Please Review **_

_**Polling time! :D (Please just pick one) TWO POLLS THIS TIME (YAY!) **_

_**A) Neji comes to Tenten's house to finally get the project done, but Tenten confronts him and tries to get him to confess his true feelings and fails… **_

_**B) Tenten's in a daze from Neji's confession and has a hard time paying attention. But then she stumbles upon something which is discovered to be Neji's and it becomes a huge clue. **_

_**C) Temari gets Shikamaru to look into Neji's past and he finds out a few shocking things. But he isn't able to crack what Neji's secret exactly is. **_

_**D) All of the above **_

_**THIS STORY IS GOING UP TO AN M RATING IN 1-2 CHAPTERS! But here's another question for you. **_

_**Would you like to see at least one night of passion between NejiTen? (I'm 50-50 on it, but it will be implied heavily that they did something if you decide on B) **_

_**A) Yes**_

_**B) No**_

_**Okay even I have to admit that that confession was very TV drama like. But even someone as calm and collected as Neji Hyuuga needs to have his moments. Okay as for our creepy friend Kankuro, yes he will be returning very, very shortly. And I want to reiterate that I do not in any way hate Kankuro. I just made him creepy for a good plot. Okay well that's it for this week folks! Next update is February 9****th****! Remember I update every Sunday! Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! Plz R&R! Thanks! Till next time! **_

_**CherryXButterfly(Angel) **_


	8. Better Kept in the Dark

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. **_

_**A/N 2/9/14: I honestly don't tell my readers this much, but I love you guys. Thanks for all of your support and reviews! Yay, Neji finally blurted out his feelings! It's about damn time! Now does he have the guts to tell Tenten how he feels? But can Tenten come to terms with her own feelings? Hmm, well you'll see. As for the secret, well I need for Neji and Tenten to get a little closer. And that's going to start happening starting this chapter. That's what you guys wanted right? Good! Now here are the results from last week's poll. **_

_**1st poll**_

_**Option A: 1**_

_**Option B: 4.5**_

_**Option C: .5**_

_**Option D: 6**_

_**2nd poll**_

_**Option A: 8**_

_**Option B: 1**_

_**You guys are such PERVERTS! Haha, I'm kidding. No I'm actually looking forward to writing it. Let me see if I can do a decent job of it. Time to read a lot of lemons then I guess. Personal experience never works with lemons (got any suggestions for a good fic on here to draw on?), at least not for me. And looks like option D won. More to put in this chapter, yay! Enjoy! **_

_**Warning: None**_

_**Chapter 8: Better Kept in the Dark**_

* * *

Tenten had to remember how to breathe after lunch. Her stomach was doing so many flips that it was causing her to become sick. She had to be hallucinating; because there was no way in hell that the guy who had spent so much of the last couple of years pushing her away, had just confessed that he loved her. Yes, he used the word love. Not crush, not like, but LOVE. She was almost convinced that she had imagined the whole thing.

Except she didn't. It all actually happened. Neji Hyuuga was in love with her, and he had inadvertently confessed it as well.

Tenten pressed her head against her locker. Her head was spinning and it was really hard to stand. She sighed as the question from earlier swirled around in her head. Did she love him too? Could she love him back? Especially after everything he had said and done over the past few years and weeks. She sighed and closed her eyes. She needed a minute of shut eye.

"Soooo Tenten," a slimy, familiar voice chuckled.

Tenten rolled her eyes, "Go away Kankuro, you are the last person I want to talk to right now."

"Well we can change that," he persisted, scooting closer. Tenten gave him an annoyed look.

"Look, I don't know any other way to get through to you. I don't like you! I never have! I never will! You creep me out! Just leave me alone and find someone else! Persistence is creepy not sexy!" she screeched, pounding her locker door repeatedly as she said it.

Kankuro didn't seem discouraged in the slightest, "Never say never, beautiful. I know you'll give into me sooner or later, although I prefer sooner rather than later."

"Kankuro, you are this close to finding yourself crushed under my car," she threatened.

"Hm, sounds kinky, planning on it anytime soon?" he commented.

Next thing he knew, he was on the ground, blood splattering out of his mouth and nose. Tenten had punched him, extremely hard. Damn, that girl had an arm.

"Aw, fuck! I was just kidding!" he groaned.

"It's called sexual harassment! Do you not know how to talk to a woman? God, I can't believe that you're related to Temari!" she chided.

"Ugh, I think you broke my nose! I won't tell anyone if you go out with me on Friday," he said. Tenten frowned. Did he really think she was afraid of getting trouble at school? She had an impeccable record. All she had to do was tell the principal that Kankuro was harassing her. The top students got favors. It was terrible, but that's how it had always worked.

"Please, I'll just tell them that you were sexually harassing me. It wouldn't be a lie. So no, I won't go out with you," she mocked.

"Why not?" he asked, pouting.

"Seriously? You harass me every day and act like a creep. No one would want to go out with you!"

"Look one date and I'll show you a whole different side," he promised.

Tenten rolled her eyes. He wasn't very original and Tenten had heard that line of bull too many times, "I doubt it. If you don't respect me now, you obviously won't ever. So my answer is still and will always be: NO!"

Kankuro scowled, "Come on! I just want one chance! All the guys seem to think your off limits, but I don't see a man on your arm! I want a shot! It's not like you have anything to lose, you don't even like anyone!"

"Yes, yes I do! I'm in love with someone else!" she blurted it out. She surprised herself as well as Kankuro and the few people who were walking by. Lunch had not yet ended, so thankfully there were not a lot of people.

Why did she just say that? She didn't even know for a fact if she loved Neji the way he loved her. But then she remembered that it was Kankuro. Maybe he would finally give up.

Kankuro stared up at her, his eyes filled with confusion and a hint of hurt, "Y—you are?"

Tenten nodded her head, "Yes I am."

Tenten took a deep breath. Was it true? Was she in love? She felt like she was going to throw up. And whenever Neji was around, she was always tingly and nervous. Even when she had been angry at him for those two years, she felt her stomach and heart doing cartwheels whenever she saw or was even near him. Was this love? It was, it really was.

"W—who?" Kankuro questioned.

"It's—," she started, but stopped herself. Why the hell was she telling him all this? "It's none of your business."

"It's Hyuuga isn't it?" it was hardly a question from the way that he said it. She didn't answer but she did avert her gaze, confirming his answer.

"That bastard," he gritted his teeth. "The one girl that didn't like him I thought, but no you were in love with him this whole time. Like half off the school in the Neji fan club!"

Tenten shot him a glare, "Don't compare me to those skanks!"

Kankuro smirked, "Well I'm not letting go of you that easily. I'm not losing out to Neji Hyuuga."

Tenten scoffed, "It's not a matter of win or lose Kankuro. I can't help how I feel. I'm not going to deny that he's an ass and he hurt me a lot, but I still love him and only him."

"Again, never say never Tenten. I'm not losing you to Hyuuga," with a chuckle he turned around and made his way to the nurse's office.

Tenten had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. And it wasn't just her realizing her feelings for the person she vowed to hate, but because now Kankuro felt like he had to fight for her affections. He didn't stand a fighting chance. She had always loved Neji, from the day that she met him in kindergarten. It was a different kind of love back then. But now it had developed into something strong enough to scare the hell out her. What was she supposed to do? She knew for a fact that the person she loved did love her too, but it's not like he'd ever admit it. On top of that, he was hiding something huge. Their love was already doomed. Neji probably figured that out as well.

She sighed and began walking towards her class. The bell was going to ring in a few minutes and she hated being late for class. She walked by Neji's locker and something white immediately caught her eye. It was a piece of paper that was just lying there. She just stared at it for a second. Dare she pick it up? It was probably a bad idea. What if Neji came by and saw her? She didn't want to go through that again. But her curiosity was too much. She looked around to make sure that no one was around. Thankfully they weren't, so she quickly grabbed the piece of paper.

Her eyebrows furrowed at what it said: _Reminder: Get the BA today._

BA? What the hell was BA? It stood for something, but as far as she knew, it usually meant "Bachelor of the Arts". That couldn't be it. But really what was it? She shook her head. She took out her phone and took a picture of the note. She placed the note back from where she'd found it and proceeded to walk away. Whatever nervousness she had previously, was now replaced with curiosity and urgency. She needed to find out what this meant and soon…

* * *

The supply closet door was shut as it usually was now. Thank god, that he had a spare set of keys. The last person to walk in on them was…probably scarred for life.

Temari giggled as she straddled Shikamaru's waist. He gave her a lazy smile before their lips slammed onto each other's again. This was a normal afternoon for the two of them. After school they would hook up in the supply closet, which was surprisingly roomy.

What they'd been doing had been going on for quite some time now, many months in fact. But they'd only chosen recently to go public about it. Why did they do that? Because the relationship had initially started out as a no strings attached deal. Of course that was doomed for failure, as the two were instantly both attracted and connected to each other. Hooking up was not enough for them anymore, because it was no longer meaningless. The whole thing was physical at first because they were both heartbroken and horny and they saw each other as the perfect rebound. But it didn't stay physical for long, as they started to fall in love gradually.

The kiss only intensified as she undid the top button of his shirt which he responded to by pushing a hand up her shirt. Their tongues thrashed against each other and their most private of areas grinded against each other.

Normally this would have gone a lot further, as in Temari was against the wall and Shikamaru was pushing into her, but today Temari couldn't go further. She had a promise to keep to Tenten and only Shikamaru could help her out.

"Shikamaru," she panted in between kisses. "Stop, I need to talk to you."

It was hard to speak because he kept slamming his mouth back onto hers. "Hm, we can talk later…"

Temari put her hands on his chest and pushed him back slightly, "I'm serious. I need your help with something. No, not with…you know."

Shikamaru dropped his arms from around her. He sighed, "What is it?"

"I need you to look into someone for me," she whispered.

Shikamaru's arched an eyebrow. Temari never asked him about that. He had a reputation as being a slacker, but also as the school's personal CIA or KGB. He had information on pretty much anyone and everyone at school. Meaning that he had dirt on everyone, which he could use at any time. People made sure not to cross him.

"Who? And I'll ruin them if you ask me to."

Temari smiled. It was always sweet of him to destroy the people who threatened her. But she didn't really have any enemies, so that wouldn't be required. "That's sweet but no. It's not a person I want to destroy, it's a friend."

Shikamaru thought for a second, he knew all of Temari's friends. Not many of them seemed to have anything to hide, "Who?"

Temari sighed, "Neji Hyuuga."

Shikamaru wasn't too surprised by that one. He had forgotten that Neji was still somewhat friends with her. But why did Temari suddenly seem so curious about him? The guy was a walking enigma.

"Why him?"

Temari bit her lip, "I heard him talking to Naruto and Sasuke yesterday. I think he has a problem with drinking, but as it turns out I think drinking is only an escape from what's really going on."

There was something that she wasn't telling him, "But you aren't doing this for yourself, are you?"

Temari closed her eyes. Shikamaru knew her so well. Almost too well. She wasn't sure if she liked that much. "Yeah, it's for someone…"

"Tenten?" it wasn't much of a question.

Temari nodded her head, "But everyone else is pretty worried too. I think Naruto and Sasuke are in on the whole thing."

Shikamaru smiled and pressed a hand to her cheek. "Okay when I get home, I'll look into it."

Temari smiled again and pounced on him, resuming what she had interrupted…

* * *

Shikamaru's basement was full of files and cabinets. He'd gathered a lot of information about people over the years from various sources. Yes, he had sources planted all over the place. One may ask why he kept so much information and not use it to his advantage. Well the answer to that would be, because he never had to. But it was good to have the information, just in case anyone would need it. His sources came from a number of different places, and most of the time, he didn't read over the Intel he'd receive. The information always came after a long period of spying.

There was Neji Hyuuga too. He was someone that no one could figure out. Even Shikamaru had a hard time figuring him out, but he'd figured that Neji was a quiet guy. But now with the development of him being a drinker, it greatly interested him.

Neji's file was unusually thick for a person who kept such a low profile at school. It was mundane at first because it just named all of his achievements over the years. Neji was number one in their year, it wasn't even a secret. As he continued into the file, he found pictures of Neji over the years as well as medical records and what not.

When he finally reached the page where Neji's life story began. That didn't really interest him much. He was about to skip the first page all together when he saw the words, "…at the tender age of four, he lost his father in a freak accident."

The freak accident happened under very suspicious circumstances but there wasn't much information available on it. Shikamaru made not to look into that later.

"…after the death of his father, Neji and his mother, Reiko, moved into a secluded house located inside of the forest area. It was starting then that his mother's behavior became increasingly odd."

His mother's behavior had become suspicious? But why? "...she became increasingly troubled with the financial burdens of raising a child. Soon after, it was said that she was seen with some suspicious characters. They believe that she was a part of a gang."

A gang huh? Oh yeah, he'd have to look up information on her later too. Shikamaru was well aware of the fact that Neji 's mother had gone AWOL during their sophomore year. After that, he emancipated. There was nothing else really written about Neji after his mother's disappearance. He was about to close the file when he noticed something in the back. It was a small clasp envelope with the words: CONFIDENTIAL on the front.

Shikamaru shook his head. He'd be the only one to ever see the file anyway, so why did they bother? He opened it find that a small flash drive had fallen out. There was a note attached to it that said: Keep this safe, or you will die with this secret.

Shikamaru grabbed his laptop and turned it on. It was a little old but he managed to use it just fine. He connected the jack to the USB port and waited. It was a video. Well, it was a surveillance tape, but he could see everything pretty clearly.

His eyes widened as the video played. Horror gripped his body and he found himself unable to move at what he was seeing. How could Neji have kept something like this a secret for so long? And worst of all, how many others were fully aware of the magnitude of what was going on inside of Neji's house…?

* * *

Tenten found herself unable to concentrate. The project was pretty much done, but they were just putting the final touches onto it. She on the other hand, could not keep her eyes off her project partner. It wasn't because she was lovesick. Oh no, this was because of two things: First and foremost his secret and second of all his confession.

He was tormenting himself with it. And now Tenten fully understood what the emotion in his eyes were. It wasn't concern or anything like that. It was love. It was just pure love. The reason he was putting himself through hell. Yes, she'd seen the bruises on his wrist. They probably covered his whole body and it made Tenten sick to think about. She wanted to tell him that he didn't have to do this. Especially not for her. But if she even told him, he'd deny everything.

"Too many walls up…" she thought out loud. Her eyes widened as Neji stopped what he was doing to look at her. His face stayed stoic but his eyes expressed all of the love and confusion he was feeling.

"What?"

Tenten shook her head, "It's nothing…"

"Okay," Neji shrugged.

Tenten thought for a second. How was the best way to get him to tell her what was going on? He had to confess his feelings first. That in itself would be a challenge to get him to do. And he was pretty strong-willed and self-controlled.

"Have you ever been in love?" she asked out of the blue.

Neji who had been cutting something almost cut his finger clean off. The question caught him completely off guard. And worst of all, it came on a day where he had finally confessed to his friends that he was in fact in love with Tenten.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked, flustered.

"Have you ever been in love? It's just a question," Tenten asked once again. It sounded more casual than the first time.

Neji scowled, "Why is that any of your business?"

Tenten sighed, "It's for one of my classes all right? Just answer the question."

Neji thought for a second. Was he really going to tell Tenten how he felt? Hell no, there was no way he was going to tell her that. If he did, things would spiral out of control. And Tenten would be put in a lot of danger, and he'd never be able to forgive himself. But he could answer the question honestly.

"Yes, once, still am."

Tenten was caught off guard by the answer. She'd expected him to lie. He never ceased to amaze her or keep her interested. That was probably one of the reasons why she was in love with him.

"You actually have the capability of loving someone?" she half-joked.

Neji made a face, "Not that it concerns you, but yes I do. But it hardly matters. She can never be mine anyway. It's impossible."

Tenten wanted to roll her eyes. All he had to do was confess and she'd be his. But she knew that he never would. And she also knew that he was talking about not being able to be together in a completely different way. "Not really, I mean once you convince her that you're not a total ass, she might just return your feelings."

Neji smirked, "As if that would ever happen. But again it hardly matters."

Tenten put down what she was doing and looked at him, "Just tell her how you feel then. After that, just work out your relationship from there."

Neji closed his eyes and huffed, "First of all Tenten it is none of your business, second of all there's nothing to work out with her. She can never be mine. I might spend the rest of my life loving her, but it would never work between us. Now drop it and let's finally finish this damn project."

Tenten was touched by what Neji had just said. Without really knowing it, he had just told her that he might spend the rest of his life loving her. It did hurt to know that he didn't have enough faith to believe that it would work. But she huffed. She hadn't exactly gotten him to confess to her. He'd confessed that he was in love with someone, but not her specifically. She just needed him to do that. And she would get him to do it too. Not because she wanted to know his secret, but also so he could free himself from the burden of having to hide his true feelings.

Well it was a start but she was Tenten. Once she started something, she made sure that she finished it, and finish this she would.

* * *

_**Please Review.**_

_**NOTE: THIS RATING FOR THIS STORY WILL BE RAISED TO M NEXT CHAPTER. IF YOU ARE A GUEST OR DO NOT FOLLOW THIS STORY, JUST LOOK FOR THIS IN THE M SECTION FROM STARTING NEXT SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16TH! THANK YOU!**_

_**Poll for Next time (PLEASE PLEASE JUST PICK ONE!) **_

_**A) Shikamaru, unable to tell Temari about his findings, confronts Neji, Naruto, and Sasuke about it. He reveals that he knows Neji's secret after a night of digging, and is willing to keep it a secret, knowing how bad things will be if it gets out. Neji feels that Tenten is behind it and begs her to stay out of it. **_

_**B) Shikamaru seems disturbed, but is unable to tell anyone anything. Finally he drags Temari into the janitor's closet and tells her exactly what he found. Neji walks by and overhears it. When he hears that Tenten is involved, he begs her to stay out of it. **_

_**C) Most of the above with Tenten and Neji getting into a major argument, which ends in an unexpected way. (This could go either way, both good or bad) **_

_**Do any of you want to take a stab at what BA stands for? Come on, don't be shy! YES, I changed some of the things around, but it makes for a better chapter and story that way. But ohhhhh Shikamaru knows now! What's he going to do with that information? Well you get to decide on that one! Okay SasuSaku shippers, FOR THE LAST TIME, it will be included DO NOT WORRY! But read the special announcement I have under this everyone, it'll benefit me greatly.**_

_**{SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT (PLEASE READ!)}: My fan fiction writing brain has kicked into over drive and I thought of four new story ideas. I'm doing a story for each of the following: NaruHina, ShikaTema, NejiTen, and though I'm not a huge fan of it, a possible SasuSaku. I'm tossing around ideas, but if you have any ideas or would like to see one written for any of those pairings, just PM me! Your idea will be taken into consideration!**_

_**Next update is February 16****th****! Remember I update every Sunday! Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! Plz R&R! Thanks! Till next time! **_

_**CherryXButterfly(Angel) **_


	9. Coming Under Fire

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. If I did, well, Neji and Tenten would've had a happily ever after. **_

_**A/N 2/16/14: So how's everyone's Valentine's Day weekend going? I'm single so Valentine's Day means absolutely nothing to me! I mean I don't think we need a day to celebrate love. It should be celebrated every day. And also welcome to the new Rated M version of this story! Yeah the smut and lemon will come in the next chapter possibly (if you want it), be patient perverts (again kidding!) Okay here are the results of last week's poll! **_

_**Option A: 2.5**_

_**Option B: 4.5**_

_**Option C: 6**_

_**Okay guys, please, please, PLEASE pick only one! I hate splitting up votes like that. So please, if you're stuck between two options, just pick the one that you lean towards. Good? Okay enjoy! **_

_**Warning: There may be a little something something at the end there. (; **_

_**Chapter 9: Coming Under Fire**_

* * *

Shikamaru found himself tossing and turning. The video footage was replaying in his mind over and over again. Temari had been texting him nonstop all night, asking him if he'd found anything. He wasn't sure if he should tell her, so he didn't reply to her at all.

But every time he tried to close his eyes, the images of the video flashed before him. No wonder Neji drank. Shikamaru would probably have to sneak some booze from his dad to forget what he had seen. But even then, nothing could erase that.

But the bigger question was: Why was Neji doing this? And was he drinking to forget, or was he drinking to drown out his conscience? Either way, now that Shikamaru knew about it, he couldn't reveal it to anyone.

Why couldn't he? Because if he knew one thing, everything would go to hell really fast. This wasn't something he could just spread around school, this was really bad. And he couldn't just tell Temari either, especially since she would go and tell Tenten. She would be devastated if she saw this tape to say the least. He was Shikamaru Nara, who was unfazed by pretty much everything. And this was the thing that was keeping him up at night. No way, there was no way in hell he was telling Temari about this.

No he'd have to talk to Neji about this. It would be the only way for him to get any sleep at night. He couldn't keep the knowledge to himself. It was just too big. Ugh, boy did he need a drink right now.

Avoiding his girlfriend was a rather difficult task. She was in his physics class first thing in the morning, and he barely made eye contact with her. Temari had figured out after the third text that Shikamaru knew something, and that he was not going to tell her. Well not if she could help it. After school for sure.

The rest of the day went on like this. Shikamaru avoided Temari like the plague and decided to keep doing so until he talked to Neji. But how would he get him alone? Yeah, that was the question. Wait, he had his number, he could just tell him to meet him. But was that too weird? Oh whatever, it's not like he cared much for intrusion. That was his job practically, getting into other people's business.

'_Hey can u meet me behind the school at lunch? I need to talk to u about something.' _

Now all he had to do was wait for Neji's response. He just hoped that Neji would agree to meet him. He didn't know how much longer he could hide such a big thing from Temari…

* * *

"That test kicked my ass," Naruto whined, throwing his books into his locker.

"It's called studying, perhaps you've heard of it," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes.

"Eh, you know I hate doing that," Naruto groaned.

"Which is why you fail," Neji said, closing his locker.

"Easy for someone with a perfect academic record to say," Naruto mumbled.

Neji was about to pick up a backpack and head to class when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He sighed and looked at the screen to see who it was. It was…Shikamaru? He arched an eyebrow.

"Who is it? Is it Hidan?" Sasuke asked quietly.

Neji shook his head, "It's Shikamaru."

"Shikamaru?" the two boys questioned.

"What does he want?" Sasuke asked suspiciously. He was well aware of Shikamaru's reputation. "And I didn't know that you were friends."

"He's more or less of an acquaintance," Neji said.

"Well, what does he want?" Naruto asked.

"He needs to talk to me about something. He wants to meet at lunch," Neji answered.

"Then we'll go with you," Sasuke said almost immediately.

Neji just stared at the screen, thinking. "No, I think he just wants to meet me alone."

Sasuke shook his head, "I don't think that's a very good idea. You know Shikamaru. You know that when he wants to talk, it can't be good."

"Hm, fine. But I doubt it's anything major," Neji said, slinging his backpack over her shoulder.

"Unless he knows…" Naruto pointed out.

Neji shook his head. "No one knows about that. No one should know about that. The organization keeps security tight around there. Not even Shikamaru's spies or "sources" could have infiltrated my house."

"Yeah, right," Sasuke nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay so lunch then?" Naruto said.

The three boys nodded their heads and went their separate ways. Neji quickly typed out: _'Yeah, I'll be there.' _He sent the reply button and continued walking in silence…

* * *

Shikamaru had successfully managed to avoid Temari all day. He was going to get hell about it later, but before that happened, he just needed to confirm a few things. First thing was if he should keep whatever was going on with Neji a secret. It depended on the answer Neji would give. He leaned against the wall, waiting for Neji to arrive.

"You wanted to talk?" Shikamaru turned to see Neji walking towards him. Sasuke and Naruto were right behind them.

"What are they doing here?" Shikamaru inquired.

"Neji keeps nothing from us. Whatever you say to him, you can say to us," Naruto answered.

"You know _everything_ about him?" Shikamaru raised his eyebrows. Did they know what he knew? Because if they did, why the hell had they hidden it?

"Everything," Sasuke furrowed his brows as he said it.

"So then I'm assuming you also know about," Shikamaru revealed the flash drive from last night. He walked over to the three boys and waved it around, "This."

The three looked confused as Shikamaru waved it around. But it was Naruto who spoke up, "Uh, what would Neji know about a flash drive?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "It's not the flash drive. It's what's on the flash drive."

Neji looked irritated, "And what exactly is on this flash drive? Don't waste my time Nara."

"Shikamaru stopped waving the flash drive around and frowned, "It's a surveillance tape."

"Of?" Neji asked, panic was brewing in his otherwise calm voice.

Shikamaru turned around, his back facing the three, "Oh, just a house in the woods just outside of town. Maybe you've seen it Neji." Shikamaru turned his head to see their reactions. All three boys were frozen like statues. Looks like Naruto and Sasuke knew about it after all.

"D—Did you see the wh—whole tape?" Neji asked brokenly. He was about to have an anxiety attack. If the town's personal CIA knew about the happenings inside of his house, there was no guarantee that he could keep this secret.

Shikamaru turned around and pointed to the dark circles around his eyes, "These should answer your question."

"How did you get that?" Sasuke asked. His eyes were glued to the flash drive. His mind was trying to think of all of the ways to grab the jack and run.

"How I got that isn't important, because there are more important questions about this," he answered, before turning to a pale Neji. "Neji, the things I saw you doing on this tape…"

Neji closed his eyes and turned away, ashamed. Just what he needed. One more person knowing what was going on. Just perfect, things couldn't have looked more bleak.

"Shikamaru, this isn't something…" Naruto began but Shikamaru's hand cut him off.

"I know it isn't. And I know that if this gets into the wrong hands, it's going to hurt a lot of people. Particularly the ones closest to the three of you and now me."

Neji spun around, "Look, however much cash you want, I'll give it to you. But please, give me that video. If it falls into the wrong hands, it'll be a huge problem that none of us can fix."

Shikamaru shook his head, "Sorry, but I'm not an information broker, I don't sell information. But trust me; I know the magnitude of what's going on. I'm not going to tell anyone and I'm not going to show this to anyone."

Sasuke frowned, "How can we trust you? You've destroyed reputations faster than I can close my locker. How do we know that you won't do that to Neji? This isn't a matter of high school bullshit. People will get hurt or worse, killed."

Shikamaru frowned back, "You don't think I realize that? Don't you think I realize what'll happen to people once they know about this? Lives could be at stake."

A thought came to Naruto, "Say, why were you messing around with Neji's information?"

The attention turned to him once again and they eyed him suspiciously. He closed his eyes, "I noticed that you were acting a little out of it, so I…"

Naruto snorted, "I'm not as dumb as you think I am. I know enough to know that you don't care about digging through a file unless they did something to you or someone close to you asks. And Neji's never done anything to anyone, so who asked you to snoop?"

"I don't give that stuff away," he answered. Next thing he knew, he was slammed up against the building and Sasuke was grabbing him by the front of his shirt. A look that was the mixture of pure annoyance and desperation was covering his face.

"Hand over the jack, or I'll beat your head in. And tell us who told you to snoop around!" he threatened.

"I can't give it to you! It may get into the wrong hands! Just hear me out, all right?" Shikamaru choked out.

"Let him go Sasuke," Neji ordered. Sasuke gave Shikamaru a sour look before letting him go. It took a minute before he could breathe properly again.

Shikamaru paused for a second before speaking again, "Someone overheard you two talking. They were concerned about it and asked me to do a little snooping."

"And he says that he isn't an information broker…" Naruto muttered under his breath.

"And who would that be?" Sasuke growled.

"Was it Tenten?" Neji asked quietly. Everyone's eyes shifted to him. He had the same stoic look on his face. But again, his eyes conveyed how he was really feeling.

Shikamaru sighed. At the risk of getting of getting his skull bludgeoned, he decided that he'd tell them just enough so that they would at least have an idea. "Well yes and no. It was Tenten's request, but she isn't the one who asked me."

"And that's all I needed to know," Neji said, turning on his heels.

"Hey, Neji wait!" Shikamaru called out. Neji stopped, indicating to Shikamaru that he was listening. "I'll keep this a secret. This involves people I care about. I can't risk them getting hurt."

Neji nodded his head, "Well then make sure that this secret stays with you. And destroy that jack. If it gets into the wrong hands, you'll be in a world of trouble along with the three of us."

Shikamaru nodded his head in understanding. Naruto and Sasuke nodded curtly before walking away with Neji…

* * *

Well it was after school now. He had to face Temari now, whether he wanted to or not. And she would definitely be asking if he'd found something. Now what lie could he come up with? Maybe he could tell her that he'd found nothing and that his ego was so wounded that he couldn't face her? Well it sounded dumb, but it was the best he could come up with. Whether or not she chose to believe it, was completely up to her.

The hallways were empty, as they always were at this time. There was only a select few people who either had sports, clubs, or detention. And on a normal day, him hooking up with his girlfriend in the storage closet.

He was walking around the hallway dazed. If anyone else was around, they'd probably think he was high. In fact he was so dazed, that he almost screamed when he felt someone grab him and drag him into the storage closet.

"Relax pussy, it's me!" Temari hissed.

Shikamaru groaned. He absolutely hated it when she called him that. Especially since she was the woman and he was the man.

"Spare me the verbal abuse woman."

Temari rolled her eyes and then looked at him with a more serious expression, "So why have you been avoiding me? I texted you only a zillion times last night and today."

"Really? I didn't notice the zillions of times my phone went off in the middle of the night. It only drained my battery 50%."

"Save the sarcasm. Now did you find anything?" she asked.

Shikamaru looked down at the ground, "Did I find anything?"

Temari huffed, "Yes Shikamaru, I believe that was the question I just asked you."

"I found some stuff, but there was nothing after Neji's mother disappeared, I'm sorry but I couldn't find anything on her either. It's like she never existed," he lied.

Temari arched an eyebrow, "There's nothing on the last two years? Nothing at all? How is that possible? I thought you had everything on everyone!"

Shikamaru groaned, "I'm not God Temari, I don't know everything about everyone. And even the most effective information networks can miss something."

Temari shook her head, "But two years' worth of information? How could they just miss that?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "Neji's either just a really private person, or his academics have been the only life he's had."

Temari eyed him suspiciously, "Are you sure there wasn't ANYTHING else?"

"Nothing. It's like the only proof of Neji's existence is his academic record. It's flawless by the way," Shikamaru feigned a yawn.

"That's weird. Are you absolutely, positively sure?" Temari asked once again for reassurance.

"Yes I am. Look if I find anything, you'll be the first to know," he reassured.

Temari gave him a skeptical look, "Is that why you went AWOL last night?"

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head, "Yeah I was searching relentlessly and then I fell asleep."

"And today?"

"I just wasn't in the mood for texting. Look I'm sorry babe, I wasn't avoiding you," he said, leaning in and pecking her on the lips.

Temari smiled, "Okay. I believe you. Now get out of here!"

They kissed once before Shikamaru got up to leave. "Are you coming?"

Temari nodded her head, "Yeah, but I have to do something first. I'll see you tonight all right?"

Shikamaru smiled and nodded. He then turned and walked away. But the minute he turned the corner, Temari frowned.

"He's lying through his teeth," she muttered under her breath. She pulled out her phone and instantly typed in: _'I think Shikamaru's in on Neji's secret. He's lying about it. I think this secret is a big one! But I'll try to get it out of him.'_

She hit the send button and almost instantly started typing a group text to Sakura, Ino, and Hinata. _'Don't ask any questions! Just stay outside of your house! I'm coming to get you in 15 minutes. No, you can't get out of it!' _Once again she hit the send button. She sat there for a second. They were going to bust into Neji's house. Maybe they'd find a clue or something…

* * *

Tenten sat on her large window sill, finishing up her homework. Yes it was a Friday, but she wanted to relax on the weekend. The week had been hectic and exhausting. She finished up the last problem and then threw her stuff back in her back pack. She hated it when she was stressed and had nothing to do. It just stressed her out even more. That's when she felt her phone vibrate. She looked at the screen and saw that it was from Temari. Finally! This was the text she'd been waiting for.

'_I think Shikamaru's in on Neji's secret. He's lying about it. I think this secret is a big one! But I'll try to get it out of him.'_

Tenten very nearly chucked her phone out the window. Why was it that every time someone came across Neji's secret, they just had to keep it hush hush!? How bad could it be that the whole world was finding out and she was the odd one out?

And Tenten hated the fact that Neji was intentionally shutting her out. She wasn't some child that needed to be shielded from the big bad world. She was going to be 18 in a few months! People could at least treat her like she was an adult. But Neji still felt the need to treat her like she was 5.

"Goddamn you Hyuuga!" she mumbled.

Then she heard a light tap at the window. She froze. No one had snuck in through the window since…she turned around and saw Neji perched on the tree branch. He had a less than happy look on his face. He hadn't done this since they were 10.

She opened the window and poked her head out the window, "Are we in 5th grade again or something? Ever heard of a door?"

Neji didn't smile, "It couldn't wait, and can I come in?"

Tenten sighed and stepped back, opening the window all the way. Neji stepped in and took a good look at Tenten. Her hair was let down and she was wearing PJ bottoms and a tank top. She looked good when she wasn't trying to impress anyone.

"What do you want Hyuuga? We finished the project last night, remember?" she pointed out.

Neji didn't waste time, "I told you this many times and I'll tell you this one more time: Stay out of my business! You have no right interfering in my life."

Tenten's brows furrowed, "Excuse me? You came to my house to tell me to stay out of your life? Well guess what Neji, I don't think I will!"

"I'm not kidding Tenten! If you know what's good for you, then I demand that you stay as far away from me as humanly possible."

There was a silence. Both of their hearts were beating fast, but both of them knew. They knew that as long as their hearts kept beating, there was no way they'd be able to stay away from each other. But Neji still tried to fight it anyway, knowing that it would do them both good in the long run. But Tenten was done fighting. It was too taxing.

She stepped forward, "You know, that's all you've been telling me for the last two years and I've tried doing just that, but I don't think I can anymore."

Her voice broke a little and it made Neji cringe inwardly. He hated to see her like that. Seeing her hurt and knowing that he was the cause of it was one of the things that made him sick to his stomach. "Tenten, you have to, please…"

Tenten shook her head, "Neji, please don't push me away again. It nearly killed me when you did it last time, literally."

Neji's resolve weakened, but he fought on, "I pushed you away for a reason. Please don't do this to me Tenten."

"I'm not doing anything to you Neji. You're doing it yourself," she whispered. She got closer to him.

"Tenten would you stop?" he growled. He knew that if she got any closer, he wouldn't be able to control himself.

"No I won't," she whispered, pretty much rubbing up against him now. "I overheard you talking to Naruto and Sasuke that day."

Neji looked down at her, confused. What was she talking about, "What do you mean?"

"I know why you pushed me away. I heard you yell it at the top of your lungs," she reminded him.

Neji's eyes widened as he pushed her off, "Why were you listening to that? That was private!"

Tenten smirked, "If you're talking about me, then I have every right to know what you're talking about. I know how you feel about me Neji."

Neji didn't say anything. He didn't really know what to say.

"And I think it's time you stopped running away from your feelings and me. Alcohol is not the answer. It won't erase me or your feelings Neji," she went on.

"Stop it," he said quietly.

"Then say it," Tenten said.

"Say what? What you heard? If you heard the full conversation, then you know why I can't. I can't make you happy Tenten. I can't give you a normal relationship. It's better if we kept away from each other."

"You know we can't. And you know why I know that? Because I feel the same way about you," she confessed.

Neji's eyes widened. Had she just told her that she…? He was dreaming. No, she couldn't have loved him. She spent the last few years hating him. But deep down, he always knew that she didn't and couldn't hate him.

Then completely out of nowhere, like two magnets, their lips met. Tenten didn't care and neither did Neji. This was the only time he was going to be able to be with her. And even if it was for two seconds, he was glad to have it.

The kiss wasn't very romantic. It seemed more passionate and urgent than anything else. Like years of sexual tension that had been building between the two of them was poured into the kiss. Her arms snaked around his neck and his snaked around her waist, holding her tightly. She couldn't help herself when she jumped and wrapped her legs around his waist. All judgment left Neji as he pushed her up against the wall, kissing her more feverishly. Tenten just followed his lead. The kiss got more heated when Tenten parted her lips slightly, allowing him to slip his tongue in. As their tongues wrestled one of his hands slipped down and grabbed her butt. She squeaked a little bit. He smirked as he left her lips and attached his mouth to her neck. She'd never been kissed on her neck before and was surprised how great it made her feel. She started moaning softly. She could feel him sucking and nibbling her skin and she smiled. This was the closest to heaven as she'd ever get…

The front door opened and closed shut, forcing the two teenagers to break apart abruptly. They were both out of breath, but Neji's eyes widened as he came back to his senses. Oh god, what had he done?

"Neji that was…" Tenten began, but Neji cut her off.

"Tenten, we shouldn't have done that," he mumbled and in one swift movement he was leaving through the window.

"Neji, you know it wasn't a mistake," she whispered.

"It was…no matter how we feel…it was a mistake," he shook his head. His voice sounded unsure.

"Neji…" she tried again.

"I need time to think Tenten," he answered and he was gone, leaving her alone in her room.

She smiled. She didn't think what had just happened was a mistake and neither did he. Neji could keep telling himself that in order to protect her; he'd have to keep her at a distance. But he didn't really believe that either. They were like two magnets. They couldn't stay away from each other for too long…

* * *

_**Please Review. **_

_**Okay before I dish out the poll, is anyone pissed about the manga chapter? Especially the stuff with Team Gai? They made the whole relationship between them look like a pure joke! Especially with Tenten! It was too damn soon! **_

_**Okay now I have a poll and question. But here's the poll first! (AGAIN, PLEASE PICK THE ONE YOU WANT MOST!) **_

_**A) The girls get close to Neji's house but someone sees their car and they have to make a dash for it. As for Neji, he decides to give him and Tenten a chance as long as it's kept completely secret. But he's still opposed to the idea. (Lemon in this one) **_

_**B) The girls reach Neji's house and are able to get into his house. But the odor and the overall creepiness of the house make it impossible to stay. Hinata sees what Neji's been hiding, but decides to keep it to herself, as she realizes how bad the secret really is. Neji and Tenten continue to be in limbo with their relationship. Neji is still against the idea of them being together because it puts Tenten in harm's way. (Lemon with this one) **_

_**C) The girls see exactly what Neji's been hiding but decide against telling Tenten about it. They avoid Neji like the plague. Neji tells Tenten that even though feelings are mutual, they can't be together and for her to stay away from him as it's the safest option for her. Her friends tell her to stay as far away from Neji as possible. (No lemon here, sorry) **_

_**Okay now here's the question: **_

_**If I wrote a NejiTen story where it's an alternate scenario where Neji survives after Chapter 614 (Full summary in my bio under Upcoming) and basically shows what happens with NejiTen after the war, would you read it? (I'm calling it "Unconditionally")**_

_**A) OH HELL YEAH! NEJITEN FOREVER! **_

_**B) Nah, Neji's dead and that's how it should stay. Let him rest in peace woman! **_

_**Yay they both finally confessed(sort of)! ** **I write long author's notes. Hmm, I don't know, I guess I like to connect with my readers a bit. Secrety to be revealed in at least 2-3 chapters! But yeah, I'm writing 4 new stories (woooo! One for NejiTen, one for NaruHina, one for ShikaTema, and one for SasuSaku!) Again if you're interested, look in my bio! Sorry I'm just excited about getting those started! So I'm sharing that with everyone. Okay, that's it for this week! Next update is February 23****rd****! Remember I update every Sunday! Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! Plz R&R! Thanks! Till next time! **_

_**CherryXButterfly(Angel) **_


	10. Silent Love

_**Disclaimer: I do now own Naruto or any of its characters. **_

_**A/N 2/23/14: Hey guess what!? The secret is coming next chapter! Finally right? I figured that I've made you suffer long enough, so next week you'll be able to breathe. So as a treat I'm going to drop a few hints about what it is in this chapter. Let's see if you can figure it out! Only one person came close to finding out the secret, but they still don't know the reason. They know who they are! Now, looks like it's time for some NejiTen action! And sorry about the late update, I was too dead tired to update last night! Here are last week's poll results! **_

_**Option A: 10**_

_**Option B: 3**_

_**Option C: 4**_

_**Option A wins this round! They came close so here we go! All right I don't think I thank you guys enough, so I want to take this time to thank the following for last chapter's reviews: bali55,**_ _**8ouji-Rui, Nhrdrmsgl, stronger13, scatter-pop, Guest (1), Rose Tiger, Lavendor Queen, Tenny-Tomboy, Ami1010, Guest(2), LesMislover2013, justathought3839, I LoVe TeNtEn, anine lover, mega NEJITEN, and koolkid! I hope you continue to enjoy and review this story! Now enjoy! **_

_**Warning: There's a lemon in this chapter! If you don't read/like lemons, just skip ahead! I'll indicate where it starts and ends! **_

_**Chapter 10: Silent Love**_

* * *

Of course the girls all huddled together in the backseat, because Temari drove like a maniac. Somehow her driving record remained spotless. But today, she was driving fast enough to leave skid marks on the road.

"Could you drive about 50 miles slower and tell us what's going on?" Ino managed to screech as they made a sharp turn.

Temari's brows were furrowed as she gripped the steering wheel with all her might. Damn it, why did Neji have to live on the outskirts of town? And why did the roads that led to the forest have to be so narrow and tortuous? Just her luck really.

Okay, she had managed to pick up the girls, but she hadn't bothered explaining anything to them. All they knew was that they were going to break into Neji's house.

"Oh for the love of…SLOW DOWN TEMARI!" Sakura screamed as they made yet another sharp turn.

"T—Temari would you slow down?" Hinata's normally quiet voice chiped. Temari was becoming increasingly agitated by the amount of time it was taking to get there, and also because of the girls' constant complaining. She turned to the side of the road and stopped the car. She turned around and gave the girls a sour look.

"Happy?"

"Are you kidding me? You drive like the road is getting away from you! But seriously, why are we breaking into Neji's house? And why is it so urgent that we break in?" Ino inquired as she crossed her arms.

"Yeah, why are you dragging us anyway? What do we have anything to do with this?" Sakura added.

Temari frowned. Hinata had stayed quiet, as she was the only other person in the car aware of the situation.

"Neji's hiding something huge, I just know it," Temari answered.

Sakura and Ino exchanged perplexed looks. "Okay, so why do you care again?"

"Because whatever it is, it's bad. It's probably the reason he and Tenten aren't friends anymore, and it's probably the reason that he…drinks," she said. "And I know that Sasuke, Naruto, and now Shikamaru are in on the secret"

Sakura flinched at the mention of Sasuke's name. They didn't exactly have the best history together. Hinata knew Naruto was in on the secret, but where did Shikamaru come from?

"Wait Shikamaru? Since when do they hang out?" Ino asked.

Temari sighed, "They don't. It's kind of a long story…"

The two looked at each other, "And since when does Neji drink?"

Temari looked annoyed, "I don't know, but all I know is that it's bad enough that Shikamaru feels like he has to hide it from me."

Ino frowned, "So how do you know that he knows anyway? I mean knowing him, he's probably already told you everything he knows. He doesn't keep secrets unless it's a life or death situation."

Temari frowned at the last part, "Well, maybe this is one of those times."

The girls said nothing more, so Temari started the car back up and started speeding down the road. The girls once again held on to each other, praying that Temari wouldn't lose control of the car…

* * *

Neji threw the empty beer bottle into the corner. Nothing. No amount of drinking was going to help him in this situation.

He couldn't forget what had happened, and he couldn't forget her. No amount of alcohol could change that. Every time he made a vow to keep her at a distance, he was pulled in closer. The worst part right now was that he wasn't even drunk. Drinking almost heavily every day for the past two years had made his tolerance higher than the average human's.

And that's when he realized that he couldn't stay away from her any longer. He'd thought he'd been doing the right thing by keeping her away, but all that seemed to do was cause them more pain. What were the chances of them finding out anyway? He loved her and he knew that he couldn't stay away much longer.

But there'd be a price. If she got involved with him and they found out…Neji's stomach turned uncomfortably as the thought crossed his mind. No, he couldn't be selfish. He couldn't put her in harm's way because of his selfishness. He had to learn how to live without her.

Except that it wasn't possible. As hard as he'd tried, he found it rather difficult. From the day that he pushed her out of his life, he barely lived. Drinking and going to school by day, then doing what they wanted him to do by night. He really couldn't call that living.

But he couldn't ruin her life as well. He couldn't put her in danger, because if something happened to her, he'd make sure that he'd drink himself to death. It sounded pathetic, but living in a world without her was just not possible for him.

Now what was he supposed to do? He couldn't stay away from her for too long, but he had to.

He frowned as the answer dawned on him. He couldn't do it anymore. And he wasn't doing Tenten any favors by keeping her in the dark either. But he couldn't stand the thought of the state that she'd be in if she knew.

But unfortunately for him, he didn't have the strength to deny his feelings anymore. Even Tenten had been made aware of the fact. As opposed to the idea as he was, he couldn't help but feel that he'd had a enough. Enough of the lies and enough of making his life a living hell. While he had tried to protect her, the only thing he'd ended up doing was making her life almost as selfish. He couldn't be happy without her and now he knew that she couldn't be happy without him.

And there was a way to keep both of them happy without putting her in harm's way. If they kept it a secret, just the two of them aware of what was going on between them, then they might be able to be happy. Maybe she'd even stop trying to figure out what his secret was. It was a stretch, but he needed to try.

"Hey!" Neji was snapped out of his musings by Hidan's unpleasant voice. Neji frowned and turned to see Hidan in the doorway. A smirk on his face and something in his hand. Neji tilted his head to see what it was, and cringed. The stench it was giving off indicated that it was in the process of decomposition.

"Looks like I forgot about one," Hidan laughed. Neji shook his head, wondering how he could laugh when he was dragging that thing around. But it was Hidan; the man barely had a conscience.

"Well then get rid of it. That looks like it's been rotting in there for weeks," Neji said calmly, though on the inside he was just about ready to spew. That was definitely something he didn't want to see drunk or sober.

"Oh I will. Just came here to tell you that you're off the hook for tonight. I want to get rid of this one myself. I'm not quite done with it yet," he said slimily. Neji winced slightly. He knew what Hidan meant by that. He'd seen him too many times.

"Well don't expect me to stick around and watch as you finish up with that," Neji tried his hardest to conceal his revulsion.

"Just for tonight," Hidan repeated, and closed the door again. Neji could hear him dragging it away.

No longer able to conceal his disgust, he decided to leave. There was no way he was sticking around when that was going on in his house.

He grabbed his car keys and ran out the door. There was only one place he could go where he knew he could forget about this…

* * *

The girls were parked right next to the road. They had a feeling that Neji was still at home. They knew that they couldn't do any snooping if was there. Sakura and Ino were still reluctant to do this and Hinata showed no sign of opposition.

"You two," Temari said, referring Sakura and Ino, "You two are always the ones getting into someone's business. Now when someone asks you to snoop for a good cause, you won't do it!"

Sakura sighed, "Neji's our friend. This is a lot different. You're not asking us to follow someone around school and listen in on their bathroom conversations; you're asking us to break into someone's house."

"For a good reason!" Temari reminded.

"To you maybe, but if Shikamaru is aware of the thing, and he's not telling you, then it's probably a good idea to stay out of it," Ino said.

Temari groaned. Leave it to Sakura and Ino to get a moral compass when she needed them to be meddling.

She looked up and saw a car about to turn onto the road. Neji was the driver.

"Perfect!" Temari started the car up as soon as Neji was out of sight. The turn was sharp but it was fine. The road had trees on both sides, forming at the top to make an arch. On one side, they saw a tiny lake. The girls looked around in awe. Why would Neji ever try to keep someone away from something so beautiful?

That's when a fowl stench pierced their noses. Sakura, Hinata, and Ino covered their noses and mouths and Temari was trying not to gag. It smelled worse than rotting garbage. But something was rotting all right.

Ino's eyes widened as she realized what the smell was. No, Neji couldn't have been a…

"O—oh my god!" Hinata gagged. She wanted to open the door and hurl, but if the smell was this bad on the inside, she could only imagine how bad it was outside.

Temari, with great difficulty, made her way up the road. The smell only seemed to get worse and her eyes began to water. She looked and saw Neji's house in coming up. Okay they were almost there. They just had to…

"Temari STOP!" Sakura screamed from the backseat. Temari slammed on the brakes.

"WHAT?!" she didn't even try to conceal her aggravation.

"There's someone there!" Sakura pointed to the house. Temari looked in the direction of the house and saw that Sakura was right.

It was a silver haired young man. His hair was slicked back and he had a satisfied smirk on his face. The look in his eyes was similar to that of a lunatic's. His clothes were covered in dirt and…was that blood?

"Temari, peel out!" Sakura demanded frantically. "I don't think this guy is going to be very happy to see is!"

Hinata gasped, "I—is that blood on his clothing?!"

Temari nodded her head. Yeah, there was something definitely bad going on. No wonder Shikamaru was hiding this from her.

Temari put the car in reverse and when they were far enough away from the house, she proceeded to put the car in drive and turn around. The girl's hearts were beating fast until they made the turn off of the road. Temari drove at an insane rate for a few miles, but the girls didn't seem to care. They were much too freaked out from what they saw.

Temari parked the car right outside of town. She was much too stunned by what happened.

"W—what just happened?" Hinata asked, breathlessly.

Temari clutched the steering wheel and Ino was still in shock from the stench. Sakura was shaking from the sight of the man.

Temari turned around, "Okay, so first of all, that stench. Does Neji not throw out the trash or something?"

Ino looked at Temari and shook her head, "No, it's not trash. Even spoiled meat doesn't smell that bad."

The other girls turned to Ino, wondering how she could possibly know that. Sakura spoke up though, "So what do you think it is?"

"Look, my dad is a cop. He deals with stuff like this all the time. I can't tell you how many times I've been in a crime scene where this stink was everywhere," Ino shook her head, remembering the times she'd have to stand behind the yellow tape and watch her dad investigate. The smell was burned into her mind.

"W—what are y—you getting at?" Hinata asked, dreading the answer. She knew what was coming.

"You guys, that's the smell of rotting flesh. I wouldn't forget a smell like that," Ino almost gagged at the memory.

The girls froze in place. No, no, that couldn't be. Was Ino implying that Neji was a…?

"N—no! I know he's troubled, but he wouldn't! He just couldn't!" Hinata denied.

Sakura put a comforting hand on Hinata's trembling shoulder, "Hinata, I know this is hard to accept. But that guy up there was covered in dirt and blood."

"Maybe it was his own blood?" Temari suggested.

"But he was smiling," Sakura pointed out.

"M—maybe he's crazy! You saw the look in his eyes! He could just enjoy hurting himself!" Hinata was trying to come up with all the possibilities to disprove the evidence.

The girls decided to keep that a possibility even though it seemed unlikely. But one thing needed to be done…

"Okay, we need to get the answer out of the boys, that's for sure," Temari decided. The other girls nodded in agreement. "I'll go to Shikamaru, Hinata you go to Naruto, and Ino and Sakura, you guys go talk to Sasuke. Sakura I know that'll be hard for you, but this is important."

Sakura closed her eyes and nodded her head. The only time she'd vowed to go to Sasuke was if there was no one else who could help. He was a last resort, even though her stomach twisted every time she saw him. Ino rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.

"Don't worry, I won't let him—," Ino reassured but Sakura shook her head.

"Don't worry Ino, I'll be fine."

"So we have a plan then?" Temari confirmed and the girls nodded their heads…

* * *

Neji didn't know how long he'd been perched outside of Tenten's window. But what he did know was that he had to see her. He was done trying to hurt her. The window was open, but she was sound asleep. How careless, he thought. How could she just leave the window open as she slept? Anyone could break in at any time.

He knew she might kill him for being over at her house this late, but this couldn't wait anymore. He slowly and quietly moved from the branch onto the ledge. From there he crept into her bedroom and quietly closed the window. Tenten was on side, her back facing him. He smiled as he watched her.

Tenten, in truth wasn't asleep. She knew Neji would come back. She didn't know when, but she knew. And she was also aware that Neji was in her room right now. That's why she'd worn what she did…

As Neji drew closer his eyes widened at what she was wearing. Apparently she liked sleeping in a pair of panties and from what he could see; a very low cut tank top. Or was she doing this on purpose?

Tenten turned to see Neji at the edge of her bed and smiled, "I knew you'd be back."

Neji was still in shock by her attire, but nonetheless responded, "So you wore that?"

Tenten smirked, "Lie down with me."

Neji was shocked by her request and became flustered, "Wh—What?"

"Don't be shy Neji, we used to do this as kids, remember?" she reminded.

A faint blush tinted Neji's cheeks, "We were kids back then Tenten. It was different." Even so, Neji complied and lay down next to her. He had a better look of her now. She was no longer the little girl he had grown up with. She had become a beautiful young woman, and she wanted him to know that right now.

"Neji, please tell me you're done running. I can't play this game anymore," she whispered, scooting closer to him.

Neji closed his eyes and thought for a second. Finally he opened them up again and said, "I'm done running away from my feelings. It's still dangerous for us to be together, Tenten. But I do want you to know that the only reason I ran away from you in the first place was to keep you safe."

"And what if I don't care?" she asked, now close enough that her bare legs were brushing against his own.

"I care. I don't want to see you get hurt, but I can't stand the thought of you hurting either. I now know that not being together is no longer a possibility," he said.

Tenten wanted to cry. Finally after all these years, he was coming clean about his feelings. She got closer to his face and could smell the alcohol coming off of his breath.

"You've been drinking," she said. So Temari had heard right.

"But I'm not drunk. I'm not even a little tipsy," he reassured, wrapping his arms around her petite figure.

"Still, please don't drink," she pleaded silently. "Please…"

Neji closed his eyes, "I'll try." He didn't think he could give up drinking entirely, but for her, he'd at least try to cut down on it.

They were now as close as they possibly could be. Tenten looked into Neji's eyes, "Neji, you said you loved me that day. Were you telling the truth?" She put a hand to his cheek.

Neji turned his face slightly so that his lips were brushing against the soft skin of her hand, "I did. I'll be honest, if you were living in misery for the last few years, I'll tell you that I was worse. I was walking around like a corpse, and I stopped caring about life all together. I don't think I can really be myself without you here. You've been in my life too long."

Tenten smiled, fighting back the tears. She knew what she wanted now, and she hoped he wanted it too. Tonight, there'd be no more holding back. She got even closer, until their lips were only centimeter apart. "Then show me. Don't hold back Neji."

Neji didn't protest. He didn't want to. He was done doing that. He gladly complied.

* * *

**-LEMON STARTS HERE! IF YOU DON'T LIKE/READ LEMONS, SKIP TO THE END OF THIS SCENE!-**

* * *

His lips crashed down on hers. Tenten immediately reciprocated, kissing him back hungrily. Neji was a little surprised by her enthusiasm, but it made him all the more excited. He began kissing her with even more force, almost bruising. Surprised by his aggressiveness, she parted her lips slightly. Neji took that opportunity to stick his tongue in. Meanwhile his hands, which had been fastened tightly around her waist, dropped lower so that his hands were now firmly on her butt. He gave them a rough squeeze and Tenten gasped into the kiss, her arms wound tightly around his neck, pushing him closer.

Neji smirked and immediately began exploring the extensive cavern that was her mouth. But Tenten's tongue got in the way, battling his for dominance. He then rolled them over so that he was on top of her. His hands left her butt and moved them to her arms, which were still wound tightly around his neck. He moved them so that they were above her head. He held them with one hand, and moved the other down her body.

His lips left her mouth and immediately latched onto her jaw. He started leaving a series of hungry, wet kisses. She sighed and moaned as she felt his lips go down to her neck and his rough, calloused hands rubbing her thigh. Was it possible for it to feel any better than this? If it did, she didn't know if she could handle it.

She let out an even louder moan when she felt his hand move up the insides of her thighs and into her most private of regions. He rubbed it through her panties. He smiled against her neck as he continued to leave kisses all over. Tenten gasped as she felt his teeth graze her skin. Neji had begun nibbling her neck as well as sucking on it. Her skin tasted so sweet. Tenten could hardly contain her moans as he traveled down her neck. She thanked the heavens that her room was sound proof.

Neji began sucking on her collar bone, leaving marks there too. He kissed his way down, until he reached the valley of her breasts. He stopped and looked at her. There was a thin sheet of sweat on her face and she was becoming wetter down there by the second. Also, it was clear by the fact that he could see that the peaks of her breasts were hardened that she wasn't wearing a bra. He wasn't patient enough to take her shirt off, so he tugged the shirt down until her breasts were free.

Tenten's cheeks flushed as she looked up and saw Neji staring at her breasts. Feeling self-conscious, she moved her arms to cover them. Neji almost immediately removed them and leaned in so that his lips were almost touching her ear.

"Don't hide from me. You're beautiful."

Tenten's face turned red and she was about to say something, but it came out in the form of a loud moan. She'd been too dazed to notice, but Neji had removed her top and thrown it somewhere on the ground. And in that time he had managed to take one of her hardened peaks into her mouth. She arched her back as she felt his tongue swirl around on her peak. He gently bit down as well, earning him a much louder moan from her. He continued to knead her breast as his mouth switched over to the other one.

Neji's hand continued to rub her womanhood through her panties, which were getting wetter and wetter by the second. That along with the combination of her moans was making it difficult for him not to pin her to the bed and slam into her with all he had. But no, he wanted to go slowly.

His mouth left her breast and trailed down her stomach. He seemed intrigued by her stomach as he was leaving a series of wet, open mouthed kisses on them. Tenten's moans only got louder the lower he went. He continued to kiss down her stomach until he got to the edge of her panties. She expected him to rip them off the way he was going, but the next thing she knew, she was flipped onto her stomach.

Neji had flipped her over and his eyes and hands trailed down the smooth skin of her back to her butt all the way down to her thighs. Tenten sighed as she felt his hands make their way down her body. He then leaned down and kissed the nape of her neck hungrily before moving down her back. Tenten could hardly fight back a soft moan as his hot mouth made his way down her back. Everywhere his lips touched, her skin felt like it was lit ablaze. And then again, he stopped at the edge of her panties. She whimpered at the loss of contact.

Neji smirked as she did this. He looked down at her panties and saw that not only were they soaked, but she was dripping onto her thighs. The bulge in his pants was making it increasingly more difficult for him to keep his pants on. He used a finger to rub her through her panties. She moaned louder, and Neji moved her panties to the side. He then glided his finger through her folds. Tenten couldn't fight back a louder moan any longer and unconsciously grinded her butt into his crotch. She heard his pleasured groan and smirked. If that was the effect of just doing that, just how much more could she get out of him if she…

Before she could finish fantasizing, she was flipped onto her back again. Neji grabbed her panties and immediately yanked them off. Tenten shivered as her womanhood was now exposed to the cold air. Neji stared at her body in awe. Was it possible for there to be a more perfect looking woman? He didn't think so.

Not wasting any more time, he grabbed the back of her thighs and lifted her legs onto his shoulders. She shuddered as she felt him kiss and nibble the insides of her thighs. She opened her eyes when he stopped for a second. She had been so caught up in the haze of pleasure that she hadn't noticed the position they were in. Her cheeks flushed once again. Was he going to…?

He looked into her half-lidded eyes as his tongue glided down her clit. Tenten let out an even louder moan, bucking her hips so that he could have easier access.

"Ne—Neji," she panted out. He only took this as encouragement and slowly circled her clit with his tongue. He then took a finger and used it to circle the area around her hole, but never actually inserting it. Tenten by then caught on that he was teasing her. His tongue stopped circling the clit and began running it down her folds, licking up her juices as he went.

"G—Go f—faster!" she begged, breathlessly. In the back of her mind she thought how good he was at this for a virgin. Unless he wasn't. Her stomach turned uncomfortably at the thought of him doing this with someone else. But the thought didn't stay long as she felt him comply with her demand. She responded by hooking her legs around his neck.

Neji stopped circling her hole with his finger and inserted it into her. He gasped as he felt how tight she was just around his finger. Tenten winced a little at the sudden invasion. She didn't expect the minor pain that came with his finger.

But that soon went away because with the combination of his tongue and his finger working together, she felt such pleasure that she felt like she was going to be sent over the edge. Neji started pumping his fingers in and out, curling the tip whenever he reached a certain place inside of her that made her scream.

"O—Oh my g—god th—this feels like…" her words were drowned out by more moaning.

Neji withdrew his finger and his tongue suddenly. Tenten whined at the loss of his finger and tongue. He would make her beg for more.

Neji smirked, "Did you like that?"

Tenten frantically nodded his head, but he continued.

"Do you want more?" his voice sounded husky and she shivered.

"P—please," she moaned out.

"Then say it," he said, licking the inside of her thigh. "Say that you love me. And I'll give you what you want."

She couldn't take it. Normally she'd make him fight for it, but she was in such a cloud of pleasure that she gave in. "I—l—love you! So much! I've always loved you and no one else and I will love only you!"

His manhood twitched as she said it. Suddenly she was screaming louder as she felt his tongue latching onto her and lapping up her juices and his finger pumping into her faster than before. She thrashed back and forth on the sheets, fisting them tightly.

"F—faster! Oh god faster!" she cried. He complied excitedly. Suddenly she screamed as she felt her walls tightening and the tight coil in her stomach released itself. She guessed that it was an orgasm. Neji withdrew his fingers but he left his mouth to lick up every last drop of her orgasm.

That was it. He couldn't take it anymore. He had to be inside of her right now. No more foreplay. He couldn't hold back anymore. He lifted his shirt up over his head and discarded it over his head. Tenten saw what he was doing and attempted to reach and undo the button of his pants, but her hands fumbled. He growled as he undid the button and kicked his pants off. His underwear followed.

Neji saw the nervous look that had crossed her face. He leaned in and kissed her lips softly before saying, "If you're not ready for this, we don't have to do this now."

Tenten kissed back and smiled, "No, I—I a—am."

She reached over into her side table's drawer and pulled something out. It was a small package. Neji almost immediately recognized what it was.

"Tenten…?" he wondered.

Tenten smiled weakly, "Better safe than not."

Neji looked at the package. Why did Tenten have condoms with her? There was no reason for to have one. Unless she'd done this before. His stomach lurched at the thought that someone else might've done this with her before.

"Neji?" she whispered, wondering what was wrong.

Neji smirked and dipped down next to her ear and whispered, "Put it on me."

Tenten's body instantly turned red as her eyes widened as she registered what he had just said. She nodded her head and proceeded to ripping open the package. She took the condom out and looked down him. Her breath stayed hitched in her throat as she put it on him. She could hear his soft moans as her dainty fingers touched his manhood. The minute she was done, Neji got off her and stood at the side of her bed. Tenten was confused for a split second, until Neji grabbed her by the ankles and turned her. Once again he lifted her legs onto his shoulder and positioned himself at her entrance.

He kissed the insides of her thighs before looking at her, asking for position. She nodded her head slowly. Slowly, he slipped his length into her slowly. He gritted his teeth at how tight she was and he let out a quiet groan. Tenten bit her lip a little bit. Since it was her first time, she didn't know what to expect. But she was surprised. The pain wasn't terribly excruciating like her friends had told her. But she still felt the stretching of her opening was a little uncomfortable.

Neji, who also had no idea what to expect, went in painfully slowly. Tenten's eyes went wide as she felt something pop inside of her. It hurt very little, however.

"A—are you all right?" Neji asked breathlessly, stopping.

Tenten nodded her head after a minute, "Y—yes keep going!"

Neji was unsure, but he did as he was told. He withdrew his length before thrusting it back in, full force. Tenten screamed loud this time, but it was more of a pleasured scream than a pained one. Neji leaned over and kissed her before repeating his actions, but faster this time.

They hungrily kissed as he thrusted his hips forward. His lips left her mouth and began hungrily kissing her neck. Tenten moaned as she felt her womanhood heat up with every thrust, but he was still going too slow.

"F—faster Neji," she breathed out. Neji complied readily. He started going as fast as his body would let him.

"Ten…god you have no idea how good you feel," he moaned into her neck.

She continued to moan louder and every thrust sent them over the edge, but it was still not enough. She breathed out, "Harder!"

He gave in excitedly, pounding into her as hard and as fast as he could. Had Tenten's room not been sound proofed, the whole neighborhood would've heard her pleasure screams and his pleasured grunts. Her fingers dug into his back, but instead of paining this, they only turned him on even more. He continued to pound into her with all his speed and might. This is as closed to heaven as anyone had probably come, they both thought. He buried his face into her neck as he continued, mercilessly. Every thrust just seemed to make her moans louder and louder.

Suddenly, Tenten felt the familiar tightness in her stomach, she grabbed onto him, ready to explode. Neji's eyes widened and he let out a loud moan as he felt her walls tighten around his length. He could feel himself coming close.

They came at the same time; each other's mouth's not being able to silence their cries of pleasure.

Tenten went limp as did Neji. They breathed and panted hard. He slowly stood up straight again and took himself out of her. Despite how drained of energy he was, he picked her up and placed her so that her head was one the pillow again. He collapsed next to her and pulled her on top of him. She was tired but she still smiled.

* * *

**-END OF THE LEMON!-**

* * *

He tucked a drenched piece of hair behind her ear and kissed her temple, "I take it that you had fun."

Tenten giggled, "I'm not sure if life gets any better than that."

Neji laughed and then pressed his lips to hers.

"I love you," he mumbled. Tenten's eyes teared up as the words left his mouth. This was the first time that he'd said those three words to her. She kissed back before whispering, "I love you too. Always have and always will."

"Same here," he whispered. She snuggled up to his chest.

"Next time, I'll be the one to pleasure you," she mumbled before closing her eyes.

Neji chuckled as he watched the exhausted girl fall asleep. He wrapped his arms protectively around her waist.

Even after all this, his protective side came out around her. He needed to protect her, even though there was no immediate danger. He couldn't let anything happen to her. Period.

As he too drifted off into sleep, the last thought that crossed his mind was the fact that without Tenten, there would be no Neji…

* * *

Temari was annoyed. Very and extremely annoyed. After she'd dropped the girls off at their houses, she decided to go to Shikamaru's house. But of course Kankuro had suddenly decided that he wanted to meet Shikamaru.

"He's dating my sister, I want to see if this guy is worth your time," had been his answer.

Temari rolled her eyes. Right. Like Kankuro knew anything about decent guys after all the time that he'd spent harassing Tenten.

His presence was annoying enough, and now he would annoy her boyfriend. Wonderful, now was not the time.

When Shikamaru opened the door, he was confused as to why Kankuro was there. Like everyone else pretty much, he didn't particularly like him.

"He wanted to meet you," Temari groaned.

"Uh, nice to meet you? Is that why you came all the way over here?" Shikamaru scratched the back of his head.

"No, I came here to talk to you," Temari answered, more serious.

"Come on in then," he moved aside so that the two could come in.

"Hey, where's the bathroom? Gotta take a leak," Kankuro said.

"Down the hall to the left," Shikamaru answered before turning his attention to his girlfriend. The two barely noticed that Kankuro had walked away. But when it was obvious that he was no longer there, Temari turned to Shikamaru, who looked at a confused Shikamaru.

"Listen Shika, about Neji…"

* * *

Kankuro didn't really have to use the bathroom. He just needed an excuse to search the house. Like everyone he knew that he had dirt on everyone. And the fact that his sister was dating him was a positive. If he had dirt on EVERYONE that meant that he had dirt on Neji Hyuuga. But where would he keep that?

Suddenly his eyes turned to a door. It was locked by a lock and chain. That was weird, why would Shikamaru need to chain a door?

Kankuro grinned as he realized that the door might be where all of the information was. Perfect, he thought. He reached into his pocket and took out a lock pick. Yes, he had one of those. He knew that he would need it eventually.

Of course the lock was hard to pick, but after a few minutes, he managed to successfully open the lock. He removed the chains and walked through the door. It was the basement.

He was about to scratch his head but decided to look around. Maybe he'd find something of value to him. Luckily for him, and unfortunately for Neji, the first thing Kankuro saw was the desk that had Neji's file on it, with the jack on top of it.

"Jackpot!" he grinned.

No wonder Shikamaru had kept this door so heavily guarded. Who wouldn't want to get their hands on this?

Of course, he put two and two together and figured that the jack probably had something to do with Neji, so of course he grabbed Shikamaru's laptop, which had been on. Apparently Shikamaru had been watching it before, because there were screenshots of the jack. How did he know that? Because of what he had titled them.

Kankuro went through the pictures, his stomach turning in revulsion at the things that he saw. It was worse because it was Neji Hyuuga doing those things, or at least helping out. Shikamaru had been really careless, or probably wasn't thinking straight after seeing all of this. Otherwise, he would've hidden the file, the jack, and the laptop as well as chain and lock the room. But after the initial disgust past, his lips turned to form a sneer.

'_This will destroy Hyuuga! You just watch Tenten, the guy you think you know isn't who you think he is! And I'm going to open your eyes to that! You'll be begging to be with me when I show you what Neji Hyuuga really is! Just you wait…'_

* * *

_**Please Review.**_

_**OKAY! TIME FOR THE SECRET TO COME OUT! Now YOU decide how it should be spilled! These were the best ones I could think of. All of these options include the other girls talking to Naruto and Sasuke about the stench. Oh and the SasuSaku starts next chapter.**_

_**A) Kankuro sends the tape to Tenten with a note attached. She watches is it and is freaked by what she sees. She can't believe it so she looks around the woods near Neji's house. She sees Neji and Hidan. They don't see her but she sees exactly what they're doing. And the cat's out of the bag. **_

_**B) Kankuro tells Tenten about what he found, and she doesn't believe him. He tells her that he won't try anything and that Shikamaru knows about the secret. She reluctantly goes with him after he annoys her to death and sees nothing inside the house. She smells something funky coming from inside one of the heavily locked and chained rooms and Kankuro picks the many locks. What they see in there makes them vomit on the spot. **_

_**C) Kankuro, not realizing how bad the situation really is, gives the jack to Temari and all the girls to view and says to watch it with Tenten. The girls watch the video in horror and decide to stay away from the house and Neji. But Tenten's desperation to know for sure drives her to go to the house. Neji and Hidan aren't there, but someone else is there in the heavily locked room she stumbles into. **_

_**D) Combination of all **_

_**E) None of the above (In which case, you leave a suggestion) **_

_**That…was definitely the best smut I've ever written. Then again it's only my second lemon. Hope you guys who read it liked it! Okay people really, I dropped huge hints throughout the chapter. Ino's words and information should've been a dead giveaway, as well as what Hidan was dragging away. But if you still haven't figured it out, then you shall have to wait. **_

_**Yes I realize that Hidan was being a careless twat, but he does this all of the time, knowing that no one comes up to the house. But he doesn't leave actual evidence lying around. Don't worry, don't worry. I have a huge one-word shocker at the end of the next chapter. It might make you go "Uhh what? How can that be?" It might make you sigh in relief. But I won't say what it is! Explanation to the happenings in his house will be in Chapter 12! All right, so my other NejiTen story is going to be released on April 4**__**th**__**! I've already started it! And I'm glad all of you want to read it. Well duhh, who wouldn't give anything to see Neji survive the events of Chapter 614 (The Cursed Chapter)? Well I'm excited about it! All right, that's it for this week! Next update is March 2**__**nd**__**! Remember I update every Sunday! Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! Plz R&R! Thanks! Till next time! **_

_**CherryXButterfly(Angel) **_


	11. Neji's House of Horrors

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. **_

_**A/N 3/2/14: Hey there! Are you guys ready for the secret? ARE YOU? Okay good! Well, that is if you haven't already figured it out. And if you guys think that this story is coming to an end any time soon, you are sorely mistaken. I still have a lot coming, like something regarding Neji and Tenten's relationship (which you may or may not like, but I'm assuming you'll probably like it!) Okay it seems that you all really liked that lemon, good! I spent 6 hours of my Sunday writing that! Okay I won't announce the results anymore, but the polls are still happening so you'll have to read to find out! It's a long chapter, brace yourselves! **_

_**Warning: Well, the stuff on the tape is disturbing. Hope you can stomach it! **_

_**Chapter 11: Neji's House of Horrors**_

* * *

Neji looked up at the ceiling. He had slept very little that night. He looked down to see that Tenten was still sleeping, snuggled into his chest. She had been smiling all night. He loved that. It had been so long since he'd seen her smile. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. And after there'd been so much ugliness between them and in his life, a little beauty was nice.

He ran his fingers down her smooth back. She stirred a little and her eyelids fluttered a little. He smiled as he leaned down and gently kissed her on the forehead. Her eyes slowly fluttered open.

It was nice for her to wake up on top of something so warm. And it was even nicer that it was Neji. But to top it all off, he was smiling, for the first time in the longest time. She snaked up and pecked him on the lips, "Morning!"

Neji smiled, "You're really cute when you sleep you know that?"

She blushed, "You were watching me?"

Neji shrugged, "I was just waiting for you to wake up."

Her muscles felt tense and as she tried to stretch, she flinched a little as the area in between her legs felt a little tender. Oh that's right…

She blushed as she tried to move, but Neji's arms stayed securely around her, not wanting to let go. "What's the rush Tenten? It's only 6:45 in the morning. The sun's barely up."

"Oh," she turned redder as she rolled off of him to take the place next to him.

"Feeling shy?" he teased, rolling on top of her and pinning her to the bed. She giggled.

"Wasn't one time enough for you?"

He chuckled, "Well, we'll have to do it again sometime."

She smiled sweetly and he bent over and lightly brushed his lips against hers, "Thanks for staying all night."

"I should probably get going soon. I don't want your dad coming in here and castrating me," Neji chuckled, and Tenten laughed.

"Well you were always a fast runner. Besides the damage is already done."

Neji raised an eyebrow, "Damage huh?"

"Well that's what it'll be in his eyes," she giggled, "His precious little Tenten is a virgin no more. The Hyuuga boy has defiled her."

Neji released her, "Hmm, are you sure I was the one who defiled you Tenten? If I remember correctly, it was you who decided to wear nothing but a tank top and a pair of panties."

"Yeah, yeah," she mumbled.

Then he smiled, and Tenten couldn't fathom why. Until he said, "You were a virgin?"

Tenten arched an eyebrow, "Um yeah. Have you seen me with anyone in the past couple of years? I've never even had a…boyfriend."

Neji let out a sigh of relief. He was thankful that she had never been with anyone else. "Yeah…so was I."

Tenten couldn't help but smile, "Somehow I always knew that you and me would…"

"Yeah, so did I," he whispered, bending down and kissing her once more.

Tenten kissed back and against his lips whispered, "So where does this put us Neji?"

Neji pulled away and looked down at her confused, "What do you mean?"

"I mean in terms of our relationship, where does this put us? I mean we've kind of already gone to the point of no return," she said, biting her lip. Secretly she was a bit scared of his answer. He hadn't been completely sober last night, and she didn't know if it was really the alcohol talking.

Neji didn't say anything, and the dread was building up in her stomach. What if he was starting to realize that it was a mistake? What would happen then? But his next action surprised her. He kissed her deeply, before pulling away and saying, "I don't think I need to tell you what we are Tenten. I know it's still dangerous for us to be together, but as long as we can keep this a secret…"

Tenten couldn't help herself from screaming in joy and grabbing Neji by the back of his head and bringing him down so she could kiss him again.

They rolled around on her bed until they heard a loud knock on the door.

"Tenten, Tenten? Are you coming downstairs anytime soon?" it was her father, and he seemed a little irritated.

Neji looked at the clock. It was barely past 7 o'clock. He looked at Tenten with an arched eyebrow, "You wake up this early on a Saturday?"

Tenten rolled her eyes, "Yeah don't ask. It was kind of my idea."

Neji kissed her forehead, "Of course it was. But I think I better leave before he breaks down the door and sees us like this."

She pouted before reluctantly agreeing. They both slid out of bed and quickly dressed. Of course they had a bit of a hard time finding them because Neji had thrown them all over the place. She cursed him slightly as he just chuckled.

Finally, as he was about to exit through the window Tenten yelled, "Hey!" Neji turned around confused only to find his lips smashed against Tenten's. He kissed back without hesitation, but broke the kiss first.

"If we continue on with that, we'll probably end up going for round two," he winked, only to be hit in the arm by Tenten.

"Okay I think you had too much fun. Get on home before you get caught up again," she smiled.

Neji tried his best not to cringe in front of her. No need to get her all suspicious, "Okay, I'll see you later then?"

Tenten pecked him on the lips once more, "Of course!"

Neji smiled and with that, he disappeared out the window…

* * *

Sakura clutched the steering wheel tightly. She looked up at the mansion and frowned. Ino had been roped into some family thing and Sakura had to come here on her own. This was the last place she wanted to be. She hadn't been here in years, and she hadn't planned on coming here ever again. Especially when Sasuke had found it extremely important to hide something like that from her. It still rubbed her the wrong way and it definitely still hurt.

She wished Ino was here more than ever. She didn't want to have to deal with the hurt or the pain that she had to all those years ago.

She stood in front of the door and sighed. She could always just run. But the nagging suspicion in her gut was too much. If Sasuke knew something, he needed to spill it. She'd recognized that man there that day. That's why she had stayed so silent the entire car ride. She couldn't forget that face. She'd had nightmares about him so many times.

Hesitantly, she knocked on the door. She wanted to bolt honestly. This place honestly sent shivers down her body. And not in the good way either.

The door knob turned slowly and Sakura knew that it was too late to run. The door opened to reveal the form of Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's older brother. Sakura would've sighed in relief if not for the fact that she was a little afraid of him. Yes he was a gentle person who never resorted to harming another unless it was absolutely necessary, but he had an intense stare and was always serious. She had never even heard him laugh.

"Sakura?" Itachi was surprised to see her of all people here, especially after what had happened between her and Sasuke. She tried to smile, but failed miserably.

"Yes, is Sasuke home?" she asked politely.

"Uh yeah, this way," he moved aside so that Sakura could enter. She looked around, the place hadn't changed one bit. And if that was the case, Sasuke's room was where it had always been. Meaning she didn't need Itachi showing her the way.

"Um, I think I can take it from here, thanks," she said. Itachi shrugged and walked away. But he kept his eye on the pink haired girl. After what she found out a couple of years ago, he never expected her to come around here again…

* * *

Sasuke was trying to finish up some homework. It was easy, but there was too much of it. Damn his teachers, they just thought he had all the time in the world to spend on this. He checked his phone. He'd texted Neji, but he hadn't answered back. Sasuke was getting nervous about it, they hadn't tortured him more had they? No, they couldn't have. He didn't do anything, did he?

He heard a knock at the door and he huffed, "Kind of busy Itachi."

The knocks continued and finally irritated he spun around, "I said I was…"

His eyes went wide when he saw who it really was standing at his doorway. It couldn't be…

"Sa—Sakura?" he said, standing up. She had a hard, distant look on her face.

"I just want you to know that I'm here for my friends, not for you," she said coldly. Sasuke's heart sunk just a little. Of course, she had every right to pissed at him after what did. Or rather what he didn't do.

"All right, take a seat," he pointed to the edge of the bed. She looked at it for a second before walking over and taking a seat on the silk sheets. "Okay, so why are you here?"

Sakura frowned and thought about what she was going to say before finally saying, "What's going on with Neji?"

Sasuke's brows knitted together, "Neji? What are you talking about?"

Sakura sighed, "Don't lie or play innocent Sasuke. I already know how good at that you are."

Sasuke scowled, "Look, if there is something going on with him, then that's his business. I don't see why you have to get involved in it. It's none of your concern."

Sakura snapped her head up, her eyes conveying all the rage she had, "It is my business when the girls and I tried to break into Neji's house yesterday and saw Hidan walking around the area."

Sasuke's eyes widened once again at the revelation, "Y—you were at Neji's."

Sakura took Sasuke's stammering and nervous look as a confirmation, "Ha, typical Sasuke. What else are you hiding, hm?"

Sasuke shook his head, "Sakura you should not have gone there. The situation is complicated."

"Like hell it is! That son of a bitch killed my parents Sasuke!" she shrieked. "And now, he's creeping around at Neji's!"

"Sakura I know that this is—," he tried to say, but Sakura cut him off.

"No Sasuke I don't think you know. You knew who this guy was, you knew what happened to my parents from the beginning, you KNEW who he had been working for, and you KNEW that he worked for your family, but never did you say anything to me!"

"I know Sakura, and I kick myself every day for hurting you, but I couldn't drag you into my family's mess. I'm sorry…"

She let out a laugh, "Was it worth throwing away what we had Sasuke? Did you honestly think that I'd hate you if you'd told me from the start? But the fact that you chose to hide the truth about my parents' murder just proved to me that you were just like everyone else in your family…"

Sasuke shot her an enraged look, "Don't EVER compare me to them! I am NOT like them. And neither is Itachi."

Sakura could barely control her tears, "I don't believe a single thing you say to me anymore, but I do want to know…"

Sasuke sighed, wanting nothing more than to go over and embrace her. Tell her that he was sorry about everything and to give him another chance. But that would send her running like last time. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Neji…is he a part of this whole thing? Is he doing what Hidan does?" she asked brokenly.

Sasuke paused for a second. He wanted to lie, and tell her not to be ridiculous. But she saw evidence herself of their association, "He doesn't…exactly do what Hidan does. Neji has a conscience you know. But he was sort of forced into this whole thing."

Sakura put a hand over her mouth, processing the information, "You mean that's why Neji only hangs out with you? And is Naruto in on this as well, and Shikamaru?"

"Well Naruto came across it completely on accident. But yeah I knew, and that's why I extended a hand," Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek, waiting for a reaction.

Her response was to stand up and walk to the door. She paused at the door way and said, "Tenten loves Neji, you do know this don't you?"

Sasuke nodded his head, "And he loves her too…"

"And you also know that when she finds out about this, it'll be about ten times worse than what happened between us."

Again, he nodded, "Sakura, you can't tell anyone about this."

Sakura shot him another icy stare, "She doesn't deserve to be kept in the dark either."

"Look, the only reason Neji's there in the first place is because he knows that she'll be the first to get hurt if he isn't there. Do you honestly think he enjoys doing this?" Sasuke said.

"I don't know what to think anymore Sasuke. There are too many secrets and too many lies, and I'm fed up with it all. I've had to deal with this for years. Do you honestly think that I would have become a shameless gossip if it wasn't to keep my mind off of this? I know more than I let on Sasuke…"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I know what you and Itachi did. I put two and two together. And while you think it's noble, you are no better than your family. And if you think that I'm going to let Tenten go through the same thing I did, then you have another thing coming," she said, before turning on her heels.

"Sakura, wait!" he grabbed her by the wrist. "I don't know how you know about that, but please, this isn't about me, you, or Tenten anymore. Think about Neji, the real victim in all of this. He knows how much this is going to hurt her."

Sakura looked down at the ground, "I'll think about it Sasuke. Now let go of me before I do something I really regret."

He let her go and watched her walk away. He sighed, but he knew that Sakura would probably keep her mouth shut. She was a caring girl who always put her friends first. But he didn't know that for sure. He only hoped, but to prevent anything from happening, he decided to text Neji about it.

"_Neji, things are bad! Sakura knows!" _

He frantically sent the text message, eagerly awaiting the response. He hoped Neji would get it soon…

* * *

The Hyuuga mansion was huge. Naruto always felt like a tiny little insect whenever he was there. Not to mention the fact that the people there, with the exception of Hinata and her little sister, had still not warmed up to him. Her father was the coldest of them all.

Even then, he was tolerated. One of the servants opened the door and let him in. By now, it didn't matter if anyone showed him the way or not, he knew the mansion backwards and forwards. And of course he knew the way to Hinata's room.

Her room was on the third floor and he started climbing his way up. Hinata had texted him the night before, telling him that they needed to talk. Of course he gulped when he saw the message, because "we need to talk" was usually code for "I want to break up, but I'm going to break it to you slowly."

He was shaking as he opened Hinata's door. She was on her laptop, sorting through her email. She turned her head to see a very nervous Naruto at her door. She smiled gently, "Naruto, are you all right."

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be, hehe," he laughed nervously.

She smiled and shook her head, "You're a terrible liar."

Naruto couldn't keep it in anymore, "Look Hinata, I'm sorry for whatever I did! Please don't break up with me! I promise it'll never happen again!"

Hinata raised an eyebrow before bursting into laughter. Naruto was adorably hilarious whenever he thought that he screwed up. He never had, so it made it all the more hilarious. Naruto looked at her, confused.

"N—Naruto don't worry, you didn't screw up and I'm not breaking up with you," she said, getting a grip and becoming more serious. "But I do need to talk to you about something."

Naruto let out a giant sigh of relief, "That's great! But yeah, what did you want to talk about?"

She patted the empty space next to her on the bed, "Come sit next to me. And can you please close the door?"

Naruto did as she told him and finally plopped down next to her, "Okay? Are you going to tell me now?"

Hinata sighed, "Naruto, remember when I asked you to try and find out what Neji was hiding? And you told me that he was just going through some hard times, you weren't being completely honest, were you?"

Naruto frowned. This again? "Look Hinata, Neji's a private guy, and he doesn't like anyone in his business."

"But I'm not just anyone, I'm his cousin. We practically grew up together. And if there's something going on with him, I need to know. No matter how serious it is, I won't turn my back on him," she explained.

Naruto grabbed her hand rubbed it gently with his thumb. "Look, there's a lot going on with him, I wasn't lying about that."

"The girls and I were at his house yesterday," she revealed. Naruto immediately turned his head to look at her, shocked.

"What did you see Hinata?" he asked, grabbing her shoulders.

"We didn't go inside. But we smelled something foul and then when we got to the house, we saw a silver haired man covered in mud and blood," she said.

_That was Hidan, shit! _He cursed himself over and over, "Hinata, you shouldn't have gone there!"

Hinata frowned as her brows furrowed, "Again, he's my cousin! What's going on with my cousin Naruto? Please tell me! I know that you, Sasuke, and now Shikamaru know!"

Naruto frowned, "I can't tell you. I promised Neji that I wouldn't. Trust me, the less you know the better off you are. Trust me, you're safer that way. Neji's already living with a lot; he isn't going to put you and Tenten getting hurt on his conscience either. And neither am I."

Hinata wasn't satisfied, "Naruto, I thought we agreed to keep no secrets from each other."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah but this is the exception. Please don't go rummaging through Neji's business, for me, please don't."

Hinata frowned, "Then answer one this: Is Neji doing whatever that man is?"

Naruto sighed. He knew he couldn't reveal exactly what was going on, but she wouldn't stop bugging him unless he gave her a good answer. "Not exactly. Neji's still a good guy, but he's being forced to do things you don't even want to imagine."

"Please tell me," she begged, even though that was almost sufficient enough information.

Naruto got off the bed, "Hinata, please I can't. I want to, but my hands are tied."

He bent down and kissed her, "I have to go and help my dad with some stuff, so I'll see you around."

He quickly bolted out of the room before Hinata had the chance to say anything. He exited the mansion and got into the car. Before he started the car, he shot a text to Neji.

"_Dude, the girls were at your place. They saw Hidan! We have to do something!" _

Naruto pulled out of the drive way and speeded down the road, praying that Neji would respond soon…

* * *

Tenten stayed up in her room the rest of the day, surfing the web on her laptop. But her mind was still on the happenings of the night before. She felt stupid for blushing and giggling so much, but she couldn't help it. Nothing could ever be more special than that.

Neji wasn't texting her back either and she sighed. She tried calling him but his phone was off. Great, just like him to disappear after they'd shared that together. Well, he was probably busy. Tenten was slowly learning to trust him again…

She heard a knock and the door and she shouted, "Come in!"

It was her mother and she was smiling, "Tenten, there's a young man here to see you."

It wasn't Neji, her mother knew Neji, so it had to be someone else. Anyone would've been better than…

"Come in Kankuro!" she said to him. Tenten's stomach sunk as she saw the creep walk in. He had a polite smile on his face. For show, she thought. Oh well, she could push him out the window if he tried anything. Temari would forgive her.

"Thank you for allowing me into your home," he thanked her. All the insincerity was making Tenten want to vomit.

"Okay mother! Let Kankuro talk so he can leave!" she chimed in.

"I'll be downstairs if you two need something!" her mother said and then disappeared into the hallway. Tenten then glared at Kankuro.

"You have 30 seconds to tell me why I shouldn't land you in intensive care right now! How dare you even think about coming here?" she growled.

"You'll be thanking me later," he grinned, taking out the flash drive. Tenten raised an eyebrow.

"What the hell is that?" she frowned.

"Oh just something that'll prove to you that Hyuuga isn't the guy you think he is. Ever wonder what's going on inside of his house. All in this!" he grinned, waving the flash drive again.

Tenten blinked. Kankuro wasn't serious, "Where the hell did you get that?"

"That's not important. What is important is that you know about this. Trust me, you'll be begging to be with me when you see this," Kankuro answered cockily.

"Yeah, no matter what's on this tape, I just want you to know that I'd rather screw a cactus than get with you," Tenten snarled, grabbing the flash drive.

Kankuro smirked and grabbed Tenten by the waist and before she had the chance to even react, Kankuro's lips came crashing down on hers. She tried to shove him off but he was stronger than he let on. Finally when she felt his tongue practically down her throat, the anger and adrenaline kicked in and she shoved him hard into the wall on the other side of the hall.

"WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK?!" she seethed.

Kankuro smirked, wiping his mouth, "You know you liked it. That's why you didn't push me away right away."

"That's because you were practically making it so I couldn't move my arms. I didn't even kiss back or close my eyes! And you have 5 seconds to get the fuck out of my house before I scream for my dad to come here and castrate you!" she growled.

Kankuro smirked, "Don't worry, you'll change your mind soon enough. It was just a kiss."

"That was sexual assault you big stupid oaf!" she screamed.

Tenten heard the sound of footsteps coming towards her. She turned around to see Temari, Hinata, Sakura, and Ino stopping dead in front of her room. She was steaming mad and Kankuro was on the ground wiping his mouth.

"Kankuro? What the hell are you doing here!? How many times do I have to tell you to leave Tenten alone!?" Temari yelled.

Kankuro just smirked, "Well I just gave Tenten a little present. Just make sure when you watch that, you don't eat afterwards."

"Get. The. Fuck. OUT!" Tenten said between gritted teeth.

"Later ladies," Kanuro said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and grinning smugly. He felt accomplished. Tenten would soon be his…

* * *

**SECRET REVEALED HERE. WARNING: DISTURBING!**

* * *

"Okay, you guys did WHAT?!" Tenten asked incredulously. She couldn't believe that they had actually tried to bust into Neji's house. But she became even more nervous when they told her about who was there.

"We were getting worried so…but we never actually saw what was inside of the house," Temari sighed. Tenten glanced down at the flash drive and frowned. Did she really want to know? Especially now when her and Neji were finally together. Was it really worth it to know what the secret was?

"What's that?" Sakura asked, glancing down at the jack.

"The creep gave it to me. He says that it shows exactly what's going on inside of Neji's house," she sighed.

Temari frowned, "And where exactly did he get that?"

"He wouldn't tell me that," was the answer.

Temari narrowed her eyes. She had a feeling. She picked up her phone and quickly shot a text message to Shikamaru. That would've been the only logical explanation in this case.

"I think we should watch it!" Ino suggested.

Sakura shook her head. "I think that's a bad idea. From what Sasuke's told me, nothing good can come out of watching that."

Ino scowled, "Oh and Sasuke has the right to tell you anything anymore? Especially after how much he hurt you?"

"What did he do anyway?" Hinata asked. Sakura shook her head.

"He just forgot to tell me some huge things about himself that's all…"

The subject was dropped then and there, as they all knew that Sasuke was a very touchy subject when in front of Sakura.

Tenten grabbed her laptop and plugged the jack in. A window popped up and she immediately looked to the girls who looked equally as nervous as she did. This was it. The minute she pressed play there'd be no going back. The other girls nodded their heads, while Sakura just sat there. There was something weird about her gaze. Like uncertainty or panic. That was odd.

She pressed down on the enter button and the video began playing. She held both Temari and Hinata's hand as the images became clearer.

"That's Neji's old play room. The two of us used to play in there all of the time," she answered, seeing the familiar faded yellow walls and the rocking horse they'd broken together when they were 7.

But she gasped in horror when she saw two people, beaten within an inch of their life it appeared, chained and shackled to the wall. Only reason she knew that they weren't dead was because Tenten could see their chests rising a little. But they were close to death, there was no way that they were going to survive.

"All right kid, I take it that you've gotten enough," the girls flinched at the sound and sight of Hidan, appearing on Tenten's screen. He had a crazed, bloodthirsty look on his face. Even the crappy resolution of the camera could tell that much. Behind him Neji stumbled in. Tenten held in her breath, he had been drinking. His stumble and flushed cheeks gave that away.

"They've been of use to us. We have orders to get rid of them," Hidan continued and Neji stayed silent.

Hidan then picked up a rusty, lead pipe that had been lying in the corner. They'd obviously never cleaned it. Tenten looked away when she saw Hidan lift it over the barely alive man's head. She heard a crack, crunch, and Hinata crying in horror.

When Tenten frantically saw Neji, she just saw him stand there, no emotion whatsoever. Even inebriated, she expected him to be a little horrified at what was going on.

"This one's a pretty one," Hidan grinned, turning to the other person, who was a woman. "She's got 15 minutes tops, but I think I'll have some fun with her before she dies. I'll dispose of her in the woods afterwards; you take care of this one!"

Hidan threw something at Neji. It was a saw. Tenten's stomach lurched as she realized what he was about to do.

"My god Neji…" Temari sounded horrified.

"So this is what's been going on? No wonder Neji didn't say anything!" Ino commented.

"Yeah after you're done taking him apart, I already poured the battery acid in the bathroom. And then you know what to do with the bones," Hidan ordered, slinging the near dead woman over his shoulder. "Oh and make sure you clean up afterwards!"

'_Battery acid? Battery acid…BA! That's what it stood for!'_

Neji looked like he was going to be sick, but nonetheless did what he was told. The minute Tenten heard the metal sawing through bone, she stopped the video. She couldn't continue to watch Neji doing that anymore.

"Neji, no, please tell me no…" she heard Hinata sniffle, her eyes wide with shock and horror. Sakura's eyes were closed, she didn't seemed to look surprised. Ino looked like she was about to turn green, and Temari had to put a hand over her mouth to keep herself from vomiting.

"Oh my god Neji…" Tenten heard Sakura mumble, shaking her head.

"This is why Shikamaru wouldn't tell me. But then why is he protecting Neji…?" Temari whispered.

Tenten didn't say anything. She was trying to get her breathing under control, but she was having an incredibly hard time. She couldn't believe it. Not Neji.

"Hey Ten, are you all right?" Temari asked weakly. None of the other girls made a sound.

"I, uh, need to be alone," she said, swallowing the need to vomit all over.

The girls looked at Tenten but nodded their heads. This was a lot for all of them to take in, and giving Tenten some space, would've probably been the best choice.

"Just call us if you need something okay?" Ino requested and Tenten just nodded her head.

When she heard her door close she lay back on her bed. She had been shaking so bad that she hadn't even realized it.

'_Oh Neji, what have you done…?'_

* * *

Tenten knew this was probably a bad idea, but she was tired of it all. The secrets, the lies, the pain. All of it had led her here, to Neji's house. She stood outside of his house. She had parked her car right at the end of the road. The place indeed had a foul odor and now she knew why. She had forced her tears back until she could confirm what she had seen. She needed to know.

She'd stood at the side of the house, waiting for anyone inside to leave. She saw Neji and Hidan come out. Hidan had a giant burlap sack slung over his shoulder. It was big enough to carry a small child. Neji followed, and of course he was loaded. While his face wasn't showing it, his eyes gave away the anxiety and disgust. But Tenten just couldn't bring herself to believe the look. Who knew how many he had killed. The thought of Neji being a murderer made Tenten's stomach turn in a number of different directions.

The minute that they'd disappeared into the woods, Tenten decided to make her move. Of course they'd locked the doors; they really didn't want any chances being taken while they were gone. Even so, security wasn't all that tight around here. Why would it be? It was an isolated house in the middle of a forest. Who would even think to look?

Luckily, Tenten always carried a tiny knife with her. She'd snuck into Neji's house many times when they were kids. She'd always been the one to bust him out when his mom had locked him in his room.

The door opened without much effort and it was completely dark inside. But the stench that emanated from the inside made Tenten's eyes water. Good god, how did Neji live here?

Walking in made her want to cry. The house was relatively clean, but she saw the saw on the kitchen counter and…was that a skull on top of the television?

She hastened her way through the living room and down the extensive halls. She saw that Neji's door was slightly open. She peaked inside to see that the room was as clean as it could be with many, many beer cans and bottles thrown into the trash. She turned away immediately. She made her way down the cold hallways. There was something eerie about the place, like a haunted house, except even more sinister.

She then turned to see a door that was heavily locked. It was the doorway to the nursery. She held the knife in her hand and squeezed the blade so hard that her hand started to bleed. Tenten barely registered the pain in her hand as she picked lock after lock. The locks came undone slowly and she turned the door know. She had to take a giant breath before opening the door. The room was dimly lit, but it had changed. Obviously the recording Kankuro had given her was from ages ago.

The walls had been painted blood red, probably to cover the amounts of blood that had been spilled in here. The rocking horse was long gone and had instead been replaced with a table. Tenten didn't even want to know what it was used for.

In the corner she saw an old man in the corner. Or at least he looked old. He had been starved, beaten, stabbed , and burned. And somehow he was still alive.

He slowly opened his eyes, looking at the frightened girl in the doorway. From the look on her face, he knew she wasn't in on this at all. As unfocused as his vision was, he could tell that.

"You shouldn't be here," he rasped out.

Tenten couldn't help but rush over. He still has time, she thought. She needed to get him out of here. "Hold on, we should get you to a hospital…"

The man laughed weakly, "No, it's too late for me kid. But you should save yourself while you still can. Trust me, if you let me go, they'll know."

"But I can't just leave you here! Do you even know what they'll do to you?" she whispered.

"Correction, only one of them will really do anything to me. But you need to get the hell out of here. If you want to see me in peace, leave me here. It's almost over for me."

"But…" Tenten protested.

She heard the door click open. She looked at the doorway in horror.

"Get out through the window," the man rasped out. "They open it occasionally."

"But what about you?" she asked.

"There's no time, just get out of here! There's already one kid suffering in this house, no need for another," he rasped out.

Tenten felt the tears building up in her eyes for this complete stranger, but even so she made quick work of the window and climbed out of it. She quickly shut the window and made a run for the forest. It was getting dark so she needed to get out of there. But the guilt began weighing heavily on her heart.

The tears started clouding her vision as she ran through the forest. She ran so fast that she didn't notice that there was a rock coming up. Sure enough she tripped and fell crashing onto the ground.

And that's when she could hide the tears no more.

They cascaded down her face as she let out a strangled sob. Every part of her body ached, from the gash on her hand to her heavy heart.

'_Why Neji…?'_

* * *

Tenten stayed in a fetal position on her bed. She had stopped crying long ago, but she still felt depressed. Her hand was banaged and she had gone to bed early. She couldn't sleep and it was getting very late.

She froze as she heard the window open. She slid her hand into her pillow case and grabbed the knife. Neji was here…

Of course he was unsuspecting, so he kicked his shoes off. He was coming towards the bed and Tenten started panicking. No, she couldn't let this happen tonight. Had she known that she was sleeping with a killer, she would've never…

She hit the switch on her bed side lamp. And hopped out of the bed. Neji looked at her confused and backed away slowly when he saw the knife in her bandaged hand.

"Tenten, your hand," he whispered.

"DON'T. Worry about the hand Neji!" she growled.

Neji was slightly taken aback by the sudden hostility, but he stayed frozen, "Ten, what's gotten into y—."

"So that's why you stopped being my friend two years ago, hm? Because of what you've been doing! I know Neji!" she screamed.

Neji only looked more confused, "Tenten, what are you…?"

"I know what you're hiding inside of your house Neji!" she screeched. All the anger, rage, pain, hurt, and guilt came out in that sentence. "And inside of your old play room to be more specific!"

Neji's eyes widened as his arms dropped to his side. She knew, but how? Who had told her? Had anyone even told her, or had she been there herself? The broken locks and unlocked doors suddenly made sense. Tenten had been inside of his house.

"Tenten, you were inside of my house?! Do you realize how dangerous…" he started, but Tenten cut him off.

"I don't want to hear it!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "Just answer one question: How many people have you killed? How many people did you murder by sawing them apart?!"

Neji paused for a second. Tenten had prepared herself for all the possible answers. 50? 100? Hell even 1,000 wouldn't surprise her at this point! But the one answer he gave was the one she had not prepared herself for…

"None…"

* * *

_**Please Review. **_

_**Option D won the last poll needless to say. **_

_**Curious about how that could be his answer? Hmmm? Well I'll tell you right now that he's not lying.**_

_**He he, I fell asleep, so I'm updating later in the day. Bet some of you weren't expecting that answer! Or maybe you were, I don't know. I can't read your minds from the other side of the screen. But yes, now you know what Neji's secret is! Yes I know it was gross, and if you want to know where I got the idea for this from, just PM me because I'm not going to reveal that here. Okay, now you want the explanation right? And yes, finally some SasuSaku. **_

_**Now you choose how Tenten is going to react. All of these options will result in Neji getting into an altercation with Kankuro. Sorry just makes this more interesting. **_

_**A) Neji explains everything, from how he got tangled into the organization and why he has to do all those things and who they are exactly. Tenten believes him, and though she's scared she believes him and promises to stay by him. He is enraged at Kankuro however, who mocks him at school. Sasuke tries to apologize to Sakura, but she feels like he has a long way to go before he can earn her trust again.**_

_**B) Neji explains everything. Tenten believes him, but she needs time to think about it, and tells Neji to leave and not talk to her for a while. Sakura is still unable to forgive Sasuke for hiding the truth behind her parent's death. She tells him to stay away from her and her friends and to keep Neji at a distance from Tenten as well. **_

_**C) Neji explains everything, but after seeing what she did, she is unable to believe or trust him. She tells him to leave and not talk to her ever again. He's hurt by it, but knew that this would be the outcome. Kankuro mocks Neji openly, resulting in the altercation. Sakura goes up to Sasuke and tells him that he and Neji shouldn't even be among normal people after what they've been involved with. She tells both of them to stay away from Tenten and the other girls. **_

_**As for Shikamaru's reaction, don't worry he'll get one, and it won't be pretty. More ShikaTema in the next one, promise! Yup! Well hope you guys are ready for the explanation next week! I'm sorry if it was hard to stomach some of this stuff this week, but my mind is a little dark. But I hope you guys continue to read this, because I still have a lot planned for this. The story is only half over my friends. No, Neji and Tenten have not reached the climax of their relationship just yet. I'm not sure you'll like it, but I spent days thinking about it, and it made the most sense. Well that's it for this week folks! The next update shall be March 9**__**th**__**(Tenten's birthday!)! Remember I update every Sunday! Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! Plz R&R! Thanks! Till next time! **_

_**CherryXButterfly(Angel) **_


	12. All Because…

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. **_

_**A/N 3/9/14: Happy Birthday Tenten! Okay, well I got a review that said this is similar Nokito-chan's To Be With You. Yes, I love that story. But this was in fact story was based on an American serial killer, except I changed a few things around, like how Neji is being forced to do it. The drinking problem and the way the people are murdered were based on the actions of that guy. So I don't want anyone to think I stole the idea or anything. And phew! I thought I'd lose followers and/or favorites for the secret for sure! I'm glad you guys liked it so much. As for the poll, well if you don't want to spoil it for yourself, don't read the reviews. Otherwise, I think you know which option won! **_

_**Warning: Everyone's favorite, flashbacks! (Yay!) **_

_**Chapter 12: All Because…**_

* * *

"None…"

Tenten froze in place, clutching the knife tightly in her hand. Out of all of the answers, that was the one she had not prepared herself for.

"None?! Neji, if you're going to straight up lie in my face, at least make the lie convincing! Am I really supposed to believe that after what I've seen that I would ever believe that?" Tenten gritted her teeth to keep the tears from pouring out.

Neji's frown only deepened. He knew that this would happen if she found out. While she was trying her best to hide the pain she was feeling, he could see it clearly in her eyes. She didn't want to believe what she had seen, whatever she had seen.

"Whether or not you believe me, that is the truth," he tried to keep his voice as steady as possible, but found himself slowly crumbling, as the tears fell unchecked from her eyes.

"It can't be, not after what I saw you do…" she said under her breath, but Neji heard every word.

"You…saw me?"Neji's eyes widened, horrified.

She held up the flash drive and at first Neji stared at it, confused. He couldn't make out what it was at first, but when he did, he felt blood rush to his head as he clenched his fist.

"Where'd you get that? Shikamaru?" his voice was low, almost enough to make Tenten back up.

But her feet stayed firmly planted, "Does it matter where I got it? Or even who I got it from? And quit dodging the subject! I saw everything on this thing!"

Neji's eyes narrowed, "Tenten whatever you saw on that, I can assure you that I had nothing to do with that man's death."

Tenten led out a laugh, "Right! Then this tape is lying then? That wasn't you on the tape? I saw you sawing a man apart! And you're really going to tell me that you had nothing to do his death? Please Neji, at least stop lying now!"

Neji had had enough of this so before Tenten knew it he was right in front of her. He grabbed her shoulders, and she tried to do everything to get out of his reach. But Neji was too strong and she ended up dropping her knife in the struggle.

"Stop it Tenten. Will you please just listen to me?" he said.

Tenten puffed her cheeks and shook her head, "Listen to what exactly? More lies? Because let me tell you right now, I'm sick and tired of them all."

"So am I. So are you going to let me explain?" Neji tried again.

Tenten was still struggling, "Not if you're just going to tell me more bullshit."

He shook his head, "After what happened last night, I wouldn't lie to you. Now please just listen to what I have to say, and once I'm finished, you can kick me out and never talk to me again."

Tenten's eyes narrowed, but she saw that Neji was looking directly into her eyes, "Okay fine, but if I have questions, you will answer them."

Neji sighed, but nodded his head, "I guess that's fair."

Tenten inhaled deeply before asking, "I saw you sawing a man apart on this video. How can you even say that you had nothing to do with his death?"

Neji nodded his head, "Yes it's true that I sawed a man apart, but he was already dead. I refuse to cut up a living person."

Tenten's eyebrows came together, "You're telling me, that you've never actually killed a person? Okay maybe you didn't technically kill anyone, but how did you not anything when you knew that people were being murdered in your own house? And why are you letting this happen? And how could you do any of this the way you did? And why are you even associated with that guy?"

Neji placed a finger on her lips, "Okay Tenten, that's quite enough. I'll explain everything, just be patient."

Tenten turned her head so that his finger was no longer on her mouth, "All right Neji, not another word from me until you're done. Shoot."

Neji closed his eyes thinking back to when it all started…

* * *

_**Flashback: **_

_15 year old Neji sat down on his couch and watched the TV absentmindedly. He didn't really care for what was going on the screen really, because his mind was everywhere but the television. His mother was gone, just vanished into thin air, no note or anything. So how did he know that she was gone? Her things were gone, completely moved out. Her room was empty. _

_Only thing left was the car in the driveway. Neji had barely shed a tear. He was in too much of shock to really feel anything. Yes, his mother and he had a very strained relationship, but she had always been there. Now, she wasn't…she'd abandoned him. _

_And the only person he had told about it was Tenten, the only person he could trust. She didn't hug him and tell him how sorry she was. She just stayed by him the entire day, never saying a word. But their friendship was one that didn't need words or gestures. Just physically being in each other's presence had always been enough comfort. _

_But of course she couldn't always be there, but she'd promised to text him later, as he'd promised to help her study for a test. Maybe that was a bit of comfort in all of this. If even his own mother didn't want him, at least Tenten did. She'd always made sure that he knew that… _

_He was about to pick up his phone to text her, but Neji heard a rather loud and desperate knock at the door. He wanted to ignore it, but the knocking only got louder and louder. _

_Finally fed up, he moved off of the couch and made his way to the door, wondering who could possibly be visiting him. The only people who ever came around was Tenten and on very rare instances his uncle. But now even his uncle had stopped coming by since his mother had discovered that he was visiting. And he doubted that Tenten would knock so loudly. _

_He opened the door and there stood a man. He was a strange looking man, which slicked back silver hair and purple eyes. He had to be 19 or 20 years old. He had a green trench coat, slacks, and a white buttoned down shirt on. It was clear by his body language that he was bad news. _

"_Yes?" Neji asked. _

_He smirked, "So you're Reiko's little boy huh?" _

_The mention of his mother's name made him flinch. He wanted to talk about anything but his mother. "Who are you and what business do you have?" _

_The man just chuckled, "I've been sent to recruit you." _

_Was this man in his right mind? Probably not. He was probably some nut job off of the streets. He'd probably seen his mother somewhere. It didn't matter, Neji wasn't interested. He was about to slam the door in the man's face, but the man's foot stopped the door from closing. _

_And he was stronger than Neji had thought because when he threw the door open, it almost came off of the hinges. And when his fist connected with Neji's cheek, Neji almost swore that his face was broken. _

"_NEVER...Close the door on me, you got that boy? I'm not someone you want to fuck with," he sneered, kicking the door closed. _

_Neji scowled, grabbing his cheek, "I don't know who you are or even what you mean by you being here to recruit me, but I'm not interested. Get out." _

_The man swung his fist towards Neji's face again but he was ready for him this time. He caught his fist. Neji was no weakling and he squeezed the fist, almost crushing the man's fist. _

_But for some odd reason, the man smirked, "You're a strong one. You'd definitely be an asset to us." _

"_Again, not interested," Neji repeated, letting the man's fist go. _

_The man then let out the scariest laugh Neji had ever heard, "Do you honestly think I care if you're interested or not? I'm not going to take no for an answer and neither is the organization." _

"_Get out, right now. I'll call the police," he threatened. _

"_Ha! Do you honestly think that those fools are going to be able to do anything to me? Besides if you even reach for that phone I'll kill you. I've killed before, so don't take that as an empty threat." _

_Neji huffed, "Why do you want me huh? I'm just a kid…" _

"_That's true, but you see, you have to pay your debts to us," he answered, confusing Neji even more. _

"_I have no idea what you're talking about…" _

_The man just smirked even more, "Well since you weren't aware, you can thank your mother for my little visit today." _

"_What does my mother have anything to do with this…?" Neji's eyes narrowed. _

"_She has everything to do with this actually. Thanks to that little disappearing act she pulled, you're now going to have to take her place," he answered, chuckling. _

"_And what if I refuse?" Neji asked, hoping there was a good way to escape this. Whatever he and this organization were doing, he wanted no part of. But the itch to know how exactly his mother played into all of this was getting to be too much. _

_By this time, the man plopped down on his couch, "Well then you'll have to pay the price for your mistake." _

_Neji's eye twitched, "And what would that be? And what is this organization anyway?" _

_The man smirked, "This organization takes care of people who are deemed…threats to our leaders' political and social standings." _

"…_Take care of people?" Neji knew exactly what that meant. What he didn't understand was who they were working for and why? _

"_Yes, and that's what you're going to be doing," he laughed, taking something out of his coat. Neji saw two bottles of Corona come out and onto his table. _

"_Who are your leaders? I want to talk to them," Neji demanded. But Hidan only laughed harder. _

"_I'm afraid the Uchiha wouldn't want to talk to the likes of you. However, you can't refuse this. If you do, well let's just it won't be only you who pays the price."_

_Neji's frown only deepened. What the hell was this deranged man going on about? There were only 2 Uchiha currently alive. The entire family had perished in a deadly explosion years ago. The only living ones were a boy who went to his school and his older brother._

"_No matter what you say you've done in the past, it's all bogus. The Uchiha are dead, so even if you are telling the truth about your affiliations, you have no reason to recruit me. Your organization no longer has a reason to exist, now get out whoever the hell you are," Neji growled. _

"_We have every reason to exist. Do you think their work is done now that they're gone? Oh no, we must get rid of everything that may tarnish their legacy. And trust me, generations of behind the scenes dirty work, has left a considerable amount of people pissed off and an all too willingness to reveal things. We don't want the Uchiha's squeaky clean reputation to be destroyed. So these people must either be scared into silence or eliminated altogether." _

_Neji wanted to slam his head into the nearby wall. He was basically being asked no bullied into joining a terrorist organization. Well there was no way he'd give into that. He didn't care about what his mother did suddenly. He had no desire to clean up the mess of a family who had long since perished. And he neither cared for their crooked practices nor their shady business deals. The Uchiha were a well-respected family, both of power and standing. But that didn't matter one bit to Neji. _

"_Absolutely not. I refuse, and you are wasting your time here. For the last time, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Neji said, turning the doorknob. _

"_By the way my name is Hidan," the man said. "And before you turn that door knob, I want you to listen carefully…" _

_Neji shook his head, "I'm not interested in listening." _

"_Too bad you little shit. Your mom joined this organization 11 years ago so she could put food on your table. Sad, she was really desperate. But she knew the consequences if she ever tried to abandon us. But I'm going to give you the choice…" _

_Neji turned around, "What choice?" _

"_Well your mother is facing certain death, but from the way you look when she's mentioned, I don't think it'll be enough to threaten you. But what about that little cousin of yours?" Hidan grinned. _

"_My uncle wouldn't allow that to happen. Do you forget about the family that I'm from?" Neji reminded. _

_Hidan's chuckled once again. Neji was beginning to get extremely irritated with the laugh, "No of course not, and maybe you're right. It'll be hard to harm her with all of the Hyuuga surrounding her. But what about that one brunette girl you're always hanging around?" _

_Neji's eyes widened, "What about her?" _

_Hidan's devilish smirk only grew in size, "Well as far as I know, nothing is stopping us from using her to get you to agree. Tenten is her name if I remember correctly? So in short Hyuuga, you join up with us and no harm will come to her whatsoever." _

_What kind of choice was that? Joining some shady organization for Tenten's life? Damn this man had done his homework. _

"_You're threatening Tenten with physical harm?" he was gritting his teeth. _

"_And worse. Now I think her safety would be worth it if I were you. That is if you'd rather her—," he went on. _

"_Enough!" Neji breathed out. He closed his eyes and thought for a second. Hidan wasn't lying one bit. Neji could spot a liar pretty quickly, but this man wasn't lying. He meant every word of what he was saying, and it made Neji sick to his stomach. Even if this man was just a good liar, he knew that this guy was deranged enough to harm Tenten. _

"_So what's it going to be? Your freedom or her life?" Hidan asked. _

_The choice was unfair indeed. But ultimately, his freedom meant a lot less to him than her life. She meant too much to him. So the choice was clear to him. _

"_What do I have to do?" his voice went flat, and his knees were buckling. He himself couldn't believe that he'd agreed to help with possibly heinous acts. And he especially couldn't digest the fact that he was now being forced to pay for his mother's deeds. _

_Hidan grinned triumphantly, "I'll bring your first assignment tomorrow." He made his way towards the door. Neji's gaze turned his gaze downwards. The amount of shame that was running through him at the moment was unparalleled to anything. He then put the two bottles of beer on the kitchen counter. "Yeah, you'll be needing that tomorrow. I don't think you can handle what you have to do sober…" _

_And with a laugh that could kill the birds that flew overhead, Hidan was gone. Neji turned his gaze to the bottles. He had never had a sip of alcohol in his life, and hadn't really planned on it either. But there was a chance that all of this was a ruse right? Well he'd have to wait until tomorrow, and if he didn't show back up, well then Neji was in the clear. _

_But of course…Neji had no idea of the pain and suffering that was about to come…_

* * *

Neji finished and took a deep breath before looking at Tenten. Her hands were clasped on her mouth and he could see tears were forming. After all this time, it was still possible for him to feel his heart crumble. And it was at the sight of Tenten's tears.

"Tenten," he whispered. He wanted to reach out to touch her, but he refrained from doing so. It was now her decision to keep him in her life or not. While he hoped that she'd want that after what she'd seen, he wouldn't blame her if she kicked him out right now. That's what he would've done…

But Tenten's next action surprised him. She walked up and pressed her lips against his. Though initially shocked, he closed his eyes and responded to her kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist. She was the first to pull away and leaned her forehead against his.

"Neji, I'm sorry…" she whispered and his eyes widened. What on earth was she apologizing for?

"What are you apologizing for? You didn't do anything…" he held her closer.

"I'm sorry I didn't understand what was going on earlier. I should've understood that when you said you wanted to stay away from me, and I sure as hell should've understood that when Kankuro gave me the video after shoving his tongue down my throat," she sighed. "I should've just trusted you…"

Neji stiffened as she revealed the last part. Anger ran through his veins like lightning as he gently tore himself away from her. "Kankuro did what?!"

Tenten's face flushed as she realized what she had said, but nonetheless answered, "Kankuro came by earlier to give me this. He said that you weren't the guy you said that you were and that I'd be begging to be with him after this."

Neji clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He was trying not to lose his cool in front of Tenten but it was extremely hard not to. So Tenten had been exposed to all of this because of some ridiculous contest for her affections? A nonexistent contest at that! And when he looked down at Tenten's tear stained face, the anger only intensified.

Kankuro had some real nerve, putting Tenten through a world on unimaginable pain in a pathetically futile attempt to win her heart. Oh yeah, he was going to find himself on a hospital bed real soon. No question about that. But the question remained: How did the video fall into Kankuro's hands?

Like most people at school, Shikamaru probably didn't like Kankuro. And Shikamaru wasn't a moron either. So what happened? He'd need to get to the bottom that one. But first, he had to figure things out Tenten. Again he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. She was crying, as indicated by shaking and sudden dampness of his shirt.

"I should be the one apologizing to you. I thought I was doing you a favor by keeping you away from me. I couldn't stand the thought of something happening to you. I don't think I could live with myself or even live at all," he whispered, burying his face into her hair.

Tenten pulled him closer as her arms went around his back, "Don't talk like that."

"But it's true," he said, taking his face out of her hair to look her in the eye. "I'd give up my freedom a million times for you. I know that it sounds cheesy, but it's true. But I don't think I really have the strength to stay away from you anymore."

"I wish you realized that two years ago. Yes it's hard to digest, but if you'd just told me from the beginning, I wouldn't have walked away. And you should also know by now that I'm not a delicate flower that needs to be protected," she said.

"I know, but there's always going to me a part of me that's going to protect you. And you should know that by now," he mumbled against her forehead.

"Honestly Neji, that goes both ways," she sighed.

But the question remained. Was she willing to stay with him after all of that? Or was this her way of saying goodbye? He dreaded the answer, but he needed to know. "Tenten, I said that it's up to you now. So have you decided?"

She drew in a huge breath and closed her eyes as she gazed at the ground. There were two options here: Either stick by Neji through thick and thin OR kick him out right now and never see him again. But the answer was pretty clear to her.

"I'm not going to lie Neji, I'm scared. But I'm not going to ditch you. You basically gave your own freedom and happiness for my sake. I'm not leaving you now or ever. And you know why? Because I don't think anyone is going to love me any more than you do," and with that she leaned in and pressed her lips against his in a soft kiss.

Neji's heart inflated a million times as she said those words and when she kissed him, he hungrily kissed back. She wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss went on and Neji pressed her up against him. This was probably the most perfect kiss they'd ever had…

But the need for the air became too much for them and they broke apart. But once again they pressed their foreheads against each other's.

"I hope you know what you're getting into Tenten," he mumbled.

"I think I have a good idea, but I've never been so sure about something in my life. I'm not about to let you suffer alone anymore. So you're stuck with me," she smiled.

"I love you. So much," he whispered.

"I love you too," she whispered back.

They stayed like that for a few minutes. The silence conveyed all the emotion that they were feeling. Fear, love, sadness, anger, panic, and a bit of happiness as well. It was all so confusing, but that hardly mattered now.

"Neji, I don't want you going back to that house at night," she said finally. "Come here at night."

Her request shocked him and he looked down at her, "A—are you serious? Tenten that's absurd, staying at your place. Especially at night. I can't do that…"

"I'm not requesting you to do this Neji. I don't want you going back to that house at night. In fact, unless you have to, I don't want you going there period. I want you here. Please, for me," she begged.

"Tenten, they'll suspect…" he whispered.

"Not if you're there when they want you to be. But I want you to stay here. Don't worry about my parents or anything like that, I'll take care of everything," she reassured him.

"It's not that…I just can't be away from there without Hidan getting too suspicious," he said.

"Just try for me, okay? Just come at night until you can get away for longer periods of time, but please…" the begging was starting to get to the point where he couldn't resist anymore.

"Okay, I'll try. But only at night. I'll have to be gone before school," he compromised and she sighed, but agreed.

She pecked him softly on the lips, "Oh yeah. No alcohol allowed, okay?"

Neji just smirked. He wasn't quite sure if he really needed the alcohol anymore. But still, part of him craved it, but thankfully not the part that tended to get the best of him…

* * *

Sasuke was the first to arrive at school on Monday morning. He was frustrated, especially since Neji hadn't texted him back all weekend. That didn't freak him out at all.

Most of all, he wanted to see Sakura. He wanted to apologize, get down on his knees if he had to get her forgiveness, anything…

But Sakura could hold a grudge that would put the devil to shame. And she had perfectly good reasons to. He'd hidden something huge from her, for his own selfish reasons. But that had almost 3 years ago. Things weren't the same, and he wanted that second chance.

He leaned against his locker and turned towards the entrance, hoping that either Neji would be there unscathed or Sakura would come in alone. Either one would be fine, but he needed to see one of them to make the feeling in his stomach stop.

After what seemed to be forever, he heard the door open and he turned his gaze. The feeling of dread was replaced with the feelings of butterflies as Sakura made her way down the hall. She was alone thankfully but her face hardened when she saw him. Of course that would happen.

"Sakura…" he mumbled as she walked up to him. Something had changed on her face. She didn't seem as angry at him as she was…afraid of him?

"Sasuke…" she mumbled, clutching the books in her arms closer to her body.

"Are you…okay?" he asked.

She bit her lip and looked in another direction, "Well I'm probably feeling better than Tenten is right now, that's for sure. But still, I feel sick to my stomach."

Sasuke froze for a second. Tenten? How did she fit into this? She didn't unless... "You told her…didn't you?"

Sakura scowled, "As if. I didn't tell her anything, but let's just say she found something, and now she, me, and the rest of the girls are aware of what's going on inside of Neji's house."

"…Y—you…" Sasuke was in such shock that he couldn't form the words properly. Every part of him was paralyzed as the pink haired girl in front of his stared him down.

"Yeah, turns out that there was a video clip of it on a flash drive. But you know what really amazes me Sasuke? It's the fact that you're willing to be friends with a guy who does things like that. But of course, it's in your nature to protect people like that."

Sasuke's shock faded as he narrowed his eyes and grabbed Sakura's arm, "Okay, you have a problem with me, I get it. But don't drag my friend into this. He's not anything like Hidan. And I protect him because he's not in the wrong here."

"A guy who cuts up body parts isn't someone I could exactly say is the right. Now let go of my arm," she hissed.

"Look, whatever you saw on that tape wasn't the whole story," he tried, but Sakura put up her hand.

"I don't want to hear it all right? I'm done. I don't want to have anything to do with either of you…"

Sasuke felt as if he'd been slapped in the face, much like the day she'd dumped him. And in a final attempt to set things right, he grabbed her hands.

"Look Sakura, forget about what's going on now. I've spent the last few years beating myself up about hiding that from you, but I want you to know that I thought I was doing the right thing when I really wasn't. I knew that it would hurt you and our relationship if I'd told you."

Sakura shook her head, "Sasuke, if you miraculously do end up getting my forgiveness one day, you'd still be a long ways away from gaining my trust."

Sasuke was about to say something else, but that's when the door creaked open. And what a surprise he got when he saw Neji and Tenten walking in together, their hands practically brushing against each other's. Their body language was making it a little too obvious to Sasuke as to what was going on between them. Sakura noticed Sasuke staring at the door, with pure shock in his eyes. She turned around, and her emerald orbs widened at the sight. Neji and Tenten who had previously been too lost in their own worlds to notice Sasuke and Sakura, finally saw them and turned bright red.

The shocked faces didn't go away as the pair approached them. But that didn't stop Sakura from speaking up.

"Tenten, what are you doing with him?! Especially after what we saw on the tape?"

"And you Neji, what happened to staying away from her?" Sasuke chimed in.

"…" was the only answer the two could come up with.

"Ten, we need to talk…NOW!" Sakura growled, grabbing Tenten by the wrist and dragging her away from Neji and Sasuke.

"And YOU! Yeah, what the hell happened to 'I'm going to keep her away from me' huh? And why the hell didn't you answer my or Naruto's texts? We were going to tell you that…" Sasuke scolded.

But Neji and Tenten weren't paying attention to what their friends had to say. They were too focused on each other and what was in store for them now that she was in on the secret…

* * *

_**Please Review. **_

_**IMPORTANT NOTICE: Before I get to the poll, I would like to tell you that ALL of my upcoming stories will now be posted on my new account. My name is MsTenshiLady. Why did I get a new account? Well the explanation is on the bio there. Don't worry though! I will still use this account to finish my 3 current stories! But everything new will be posted there. So you don't have to, but if you want to see the new stories when they come out, just follow that account. Again the name is MsTenshiLady, the link is in my bio. Thanks! Now for the poll! **_

_**A) Unbeknownst to Neji, Hidan has a surveillance camera that he leaves running whenever he's not in the room. When Neji comes home, Hidan shows him the tape of Tenten sneaking into the house. He tells him the consequences of what she's done. Neji calls Sasuke and Naruto to help get Tenten away from town. **_

_**B) Sakura decides to come clean to Tenten about her past. How her parents died, how Sasuke was aware of it, and why she wasn't too shocked when they'd played the tape. Temari confronts Shikamaru about the tape and asks him why he lied to her and it begins to put a strain on their relationship. Hinata finds herself unable to talk to Naruto, and he can't figure out why. **_

_**C) All of the above**_

_**Ha ha ha! And in addition to creating a new account…I got more story ideas. The four I'm already planning on doing, and three more NejiTen ones. Yes you heard me THREE MORE IN ADDITION TO THE ONE I WAS ALREADY PLANNING! I only have one out of the three ideas other up on my other profile, as I literally thought of the other two in the last few days, but I'm excited! **_

_**Okay a few things. I'm moving the fight to next chapter as there is already a lot going on in this chapter and I live in California, and Corona is the most popular beer around here. So that's why that's the beer of choice in the story. Another thing…if you think that them finally being a couple is where they're going to stay, you are wrong! Neji and Tenten are going to take their relationship to a whole new level in a matter of few chapters. Well that's it for this week folks! Next update is March 16**__**th**__**! Remember I update every Sunday! Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! Plz R&R! Thanks! Till next time! **_

_**CherryXButterfly(Angel) **_


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